


Let Me Fall For You

by HuntressFirefall



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Skating, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Anxious Katsuki Yuuri, Implied Parental Homophobia, Inspired by Real Events, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change, Slow Build, Slow Burn, YOI but in a blender with real life, eventual sexytimes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-20
Updated: 2019-10-29
Packaged: 2019-11-01 11:26:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 173,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17866373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HuntressFirefall/pseuds/HuntressFirefall
Summary: Victor Nikiforov was on his way to becoming a Living Legend in the sport of figure skating. After hitting his stride and winning back-to-back World Championships, the sport's biggest star was the overwhelming favorite to win gold in his third Olympics on home ice in Sochi, Russia.But when Yuri Katsuki pulls off the upset victory in Sochi at the young age of 21 and takes the gold, Victor begins to see his world and the people in it in a very different light -- and it turns out they see him differently as well.No longer knowing who he can rely on and finding he didn't know those close to him as well as he thought, when his skating career falters Victor makes a shocking choice that turns his world upside down in ways he did -- and didn't -- expect.





	1. Chapter 1

It was not supposed to be like this.

Thirty minutes prior to this moment, Victor Nikiforov had executed the literal best skate of his career, maybe even his entire life, on Olympic ice in his home country of Russia. Ever since the Olympics had been announced for Sochi, he'd played this moment over and over in his mind and was pretty certain it had been exactly as he'd pictured it. Every element pristine, every jump with a positive GOE. He'd worked on his presentation, the one thing some critics had said he'd been lacking in, his tendency to be all business on the ice and focus on technical perfection having led to accusations of being “another wooden Russian skater”. He'd set a new World Record with his score in the free skate, and had performed three quads, two in combination for higher points. He had done absolutely everything he possibly could have, short of opening up his chest and dropping his heart on the ice like a microphone after he hit his ending pose.

But now, as he stood on the 2014 Olympic podium he was one step down from the top staring down at the silver medal hanging around his neck, and it still wasn't sinking in. At age 25, he had already been to three Olympics: his first in 2006, where he'd won an astonishing bronze in his first senior season; second in 2010, where he'd come very close but ended up winning silver, and now the most important one. He was already considered “old” by the standards of his sport, and he'd already planned, after winning gold, to retire from competition and skate in professional show tours to his heart's content. Every single plan, every single hope, every single hour of hard work... and it had all slipped away in the four minutes and twenty seconds that the final skater that came after him had been on the ice.

Victor looked up and over at the just-barely-21-year-old Japanese skater. _He cracks at the most important times,_ everyone had said. _He's brilliant but can't put two clean programs together when it counts,_ Victor's own coach, the legendary Yakov Feltsman, had assured him. _So he won the short program, it was a fluke, you'll kick his ass in the long,_ Victor's own rinkmate Georgi had said, laughing off the pristine, flawless short program the enigmatic, graceful skater had thrown down after Victor's. The only difference between them had been the quad they'd done in their combinations: Victor's was a toe loop, but the Japanese skater had gone for broke – something he wasn't known for doing – and had landed a quad Salchow/triple toe loop, a jump he'd only ever been seen landing in practice that one no one ever thought he'd try on a regular day, let alone Olympic ice.

Victor watched as the three flags – Japan at the top, Russia slightly below, and Switzerland – the home of Victor's dearest friend, Christophe Giacometti, who had won bronze (and was nonetheless ecstatic about it) – rose slowly as the Japanese National Anthem played. In his peripheral vision he could see the Japanese skater seeming unmoved, just barely mouthing along with the words. As the music ended Victor switched into the usual podium routine (though not quite because there was never usually anyone to look up at). The skaters waved, and then as the official photographers grouped on the carpeted space laid on the ice for the presentation, Victor and Christophe were urged to step up onto the top of the podium. Victor mused bitterly it was the only way he'd know what it was like to stand at the top of an Olympic podium on his home ice.

Christophe was mildly acquainted with the Japanese skater, and smiled brightly at him with a nod as he climbed up to the top step in congratulations. The other's face flushed pink and he dipped his head in the typical Japanese bow of gratitude, but seemed almost emotionless somehow – which Victor found caused some anger to well up within him. How the hell did he not even seem to care?

Victor's thoughts were broken into by Chris calling over the loudly playing, fanfare-ish music and the cheers of the crowd (which Victor knew would have been even louder for him), telling him to get up on top for the photographers. He stepped up and the Japanese skater turned his head, dipped it in what seemed like an almost compulsive response, then quickly focused back to the media line as they began calling his name, not even giving Victor time to say anything to him even if he'd felt like it at that moment. Of course it was more likely that Victor's taking his time was making things hurried, but at this particular moment Victor felt even more slighted and even a bit disrespected.

After the flurry of flashbulbs the officials called them down to do a victory lap, with the three men stopping on the ice along the way at points marked off with another piece of carpet for more photo calls. The Japanese skater seemed more than happy to take the opportunity to skate ahead, accepting a huge Japanese flag from someone in the crowd to wear as a cape and pausing to take photos with fans. Victor watched as he skated over to what appeared to be family, and it was the first time he'd seemed to show any real emotion. Once the victory lap ended the trio headed toward the exit to the backstage area to prepare for the press conference, but not without one last, unintentional insult to Victor's injury from the announcer as the three of them turned to wave to the crowd one last time before stepping off the ice.

“One more time, please congratulate our 2014 Olympic medalists: Bronze medalist Christophe Giacometti, silver medalist Victor Nikiforov, and gold medalist Yuri Katsuki!”

 

 

The press conference was the first time Victor had ever heard Yuri Katsuki speak. His English was quite good, but he'd opted to have an interpreter stand by to consult if he hadn't heard or understood something clearly when asked in English. He spoke softly, almost too calmly, seeming to measure his words carefully so as not to offend with a misstep. But Victor did not miss the flush that played over Katsuki's face when one Russian reporter asked what, in Victor's mind, the entire world was thinking right now.

“You have always been known as someone who missed important things when it counted. How did you manage to beat the reigning World Champion for the Olympic gold on Russian ice?”

Victor watched Katsuki's coach, two-time Olympic silver medalist turned renowned coach Celestino Cialdini, frown and step forward a pace from where he stood next to the table the skaters were seated at, an air of protectiveness about him.

Katsuki leaned into his microphone and said softly, “I did not expect to win, so I skated as if I had nothing to lose. I learned today that it is what I always should be doing, because then I skate well. I did not think about winning. I just wanted to do well for Japan.”

Katsuki's words struck something in Victor. Yakov had lectured him countless times about trying too hard, wanting it too much...

Victor was startled when he felt a sharp poke on his shoulder; Yakov bringing him back to focus, as he was being addressed.

“I'm sorry, I'm a bit tired,” Victor said into his microphone with an apologetic smile. “Can you repeat that please?”

“Everyone expected you to win the gold in your home country. Did you skate to win today?” the reporter asked, bouncing off of Katsuki's answer. Victor could see Christophe's frown on the other side of the table; the question was harsh all things considered, especially since it was being asked by a Russian journalist. _It's already starting..._

“I skated with everything I had in me. But any skater on any day can have either the best or worst performance of their life. And sometimes your best is just eight-tenths of a point less than it needs to be,” Victor replied, referring to the margin between himself and Katsuki with a grin that he knew would be read as throwing shade. _Don't go down that road, it's not what you do, no matter how disappointed you are..._

The press conference ended with yet another round of photos, after which Celestino immediately ushered Katsuki away, a protective arm around his shoulders punctuated by a squeeze of encouragement as they left the room. Victor turned toward Yakov to find his normal, unreadable scowl in place as they took their leave.

“So are you going to do what they asked you about?” Victor asked him as he found them momentarily not flanked by people in the hallway. “Are you contesting the final standings?”

“The Federation wants to, or at least have the judges responsible for what they feel is overmarking Katsuki questioned,” Yakov answered. “That gold should be yours.”

“And you think I want it _that_ way?” Victor snapped. “That gold would never be mine even if they did reverse the decision. In fact no one but Russia would think I deserved it. He landed a quad Sal/triple toe combination in both his short and long, which is harder than anything I did. That alone puts the base value of his programs above mine. He gambled and it paid off. He won fairly. Tell the Federation to drop it, or I will.”

Yakov was about to reply until Victor's attention was diverted to the heads of a pair of journalists poking out of the doorway, who had heard the dispute from the conference room and had gone to see what the commotion was. Thankfully, Victor recognized both as non-Russian speakers; at least they wouldn't have heard what they'd been arguing about. Instead he turned and made his way toward the locker rooms, the weight of the very long day and its outcome finally beginning to settle upon him.

 

 

The next several weeks had been a whirlwind of constant media scrutiny of the outcome of the Sochi men's singles event. The fans of both skaters were at war online and for the most part, it was easy to tell the casual fans who only watched once every four years from the more knowledgeable followers of the sport. Victor had always had a practice of secretly checking into places like Twitter, Facebook and the old-school message boards, a couple of which had existed since the early 2000s, to see what fans were saying.

The more removed from that day he'd been, the more he realized that despite his anger and disappointment, those who understood the sport were right, just as he'd already known. Katsuki's base value as submitted to the ISU had been lower than Victor's for both programs, but there was no rule that said one couldn't change what they were doing while on the ice. Katsuki had gone for broke, even if it was inexplicably. He'd never been known for taking chances before; in fact it was usually the reverse. He'd been known for blowing the easiest of jumps, especially when he was on top after the short and even in competitions as “lower level” as the Grand Prix Series events. He'd always been the skater who “would be hard to beat if he could just jump consistently”. Those who didn't follow Katsuki closely were angry; those that did were unsurprised, having known he'd been practicing the quad Sal for more than two years.

Victor found himself fascinated not only with Katsuki's story, but that of his coach. Cialdini had represented the United States at two Olympics, in 1994 and 1998. His unorthodox, “rock and roll” type of skating that focused more on technical merit than artistry had made him a polarizing figure in the sport. With three World Championships and two Olympic silver medals – both times, ironically, he'd lost to Russian skaters that Victor had idolized, and both competitions were hotly debated by fans in some circles even to the present day – Cialdini had been known as one of the first men to land a quadruple jump, the toe loop, in competition, and was the first man to land one in combination at Worlds. He'd parlayed his skating career into a coaching career that had been low-key – that is, until he'd taken on Yuri Katsuki.

Victor had found that Katsuki's story wasn't all that different from his own. Victor had just been one of a hundred young skaters at his rink, though he'd been pronounced “talented” and as a result his parents had been talked into getting him skating lessons. But it had been when Yakov Feltsman had come to the small, run-down rink on the far side of St. Petersburg where Victor skated to look for potential stars that Victor's life had changed forever.

Katsuki had hit a dead-end with his former Japanese coach, and the woman that Victor had thought was Yuri's mother at the Olympics that turned out to be his longtime dance coach and choreographer had contacted Celestino to take him on. When Katsuki had finished high school, he moved to Detroit to train under Celestino and the pairing had been magical from day one.

The more Victor read about Yuri Katsuki, the more he realized he couldn't begrudge his success. Katsuki seemed to work quite hard, but were it not for the reports of fans or fellow rinkmates who had seen him practicing, no one would have known. He rarely if ever gave interviews, and was basically the antithesis of Victor: Loathe to be in the limelight, quiet, even elusive. Celestino seemed to shield his charge well, keeping any media correspondence about his newly-forged Olympic Champion to talk of his skating and training regimens, declining to speak much of his personal life other than that he was from a quiet town in the south of Japan called Hasetsu, where his family ran a hot-springs resort.

Victor himself had taken to declining interviews, staying mum about whether or not he would compete at Worlds. The standard procedure for top-level skaters that went to the Olympics was to skip that season's Worlds, and Victor was heavily considering it even though he hadn't in all of his other Olympic years. This year though was already being pumped up in the media as “the rematch” between himself and Katsuki, and as appealing as it was on the surface to at least beat Katsuki for his third World title, something within Victor made him not want to put that much pressure on the skating world's newly-anointed king. Aside from a single international gold medal at NHK Trophy amongst the silver and bronzes Katsuki had won in his Grand Prix Series events since moving to Celestino and his first Japanese National Championship gold two months earlier, the Olympic gold was the biggest thing he'd ever won.

Victor remembered what that pressure was like after he'd won his first major gold medal at Worlds. He'd hidden it well – Yakov expected nothing less, because showing any sign of weakness makes you beatable – but it had been difficult. He could relate to why Katsuki was likely so withdrawn, as over the years he'd become so as well. And the more he thought about it, he really wasn't sure he wanted to add to Katsuki's plate a rivalry that would probably be built up just as much in the new season as it currently already was.

_Best to give him a respite now, before the entire world crushes him without my even putting a blade on the ice._

 

 

“We're being called lazy, you know. But quite honestly, I don't care. Everyone skips Worlds in an Olympic year.”

Victor and Chris had just returned to Chris' apartment in Lausanne with the fixings for dinner, with Chris hurriedly closing the door so his new kitten didn't escape. Upon Victor's announcement that he'd withdrawn from Worlds Chris had done the same, finding the thought of competing without Victor to push him as he always had not to his liking. Victor had felt the need to get out of Russia for a bit and away from the prying eyes of the media, and Chris' apartment had become his sanctuary of choice within the last few years.

“The only reason they're saying that is because all the young upstarts that went to the Olympics are still competing,” Victor replied with a smirk.

“It's because Yuri still went. It's all right, you can say it,” Chris teased him. He then affected a sassy tone meant to imitate a reporter. “If the Olympic Gold Medalist can still go to Worlds, so can two seasoned veterans like Giacometti and Nikiforov!!” he squealed, prompting Victor to break into laughter in response.

“Well, yes. But he's also younger. We old men need our rest,” Victor replied. “Anyway, when does the stream for the short program start?”

“You actually want to watch?” Chris asked bemusedly.

“Just the last group. I want to see how Katsuki holds up to the pressure. I feel like he's going to crumble pretty easily. He can't even look you in the eye, so I honestly don't know how he's going to handle the title of Olympic Champion and being expected to be flawless.”

“You don't have to be the Olympic Champion for them to expect that,” Chris reminded him, causing Victor's face to pull into a scowl.

“Well of course not,” he snapped in reply.

“Ooooh, touchy touchy,” Chris said. “Is that why you were planning on retiring after you won gold? So you didn't have to worry about it?”

Victor scowled again. “Shut up.”

“You can still retire, you know. No one says you can't.”

“Are you going to?”

Chris considered his answer for a few moments as he made a show of putting away the last of the groceries. “I don't think I am. I think I've still got at least one more Olympics in the tank, as long as I stay healthy and avoid injury. Which shouldn't be too difficult.”

“Not if you keep pushing on learning the quad Sal. That's rough on the takeoff leg. You should try for the flip. At least it's a toe jump, it won't be as hard on the body.”

“Victor. If Katsuki's quad Salchow stays consistent, everyone is going to be needing it. I've been working on the Sal for a few years now. I've just never been consistent enough with it to put it in a program. So I've relied on my charm and elegance to squeak by with my quad toe and my presentation. If anyone else is going to learn the Sal _and_ flip, it's you. If you get both, you'll be one up on everyone, including Katsuki. The flip is your secret weapon.”

“True. And I think I'm just about ready to add it into the short program this coming season. It's not as tough as the Sal, but from what I've seen Katsuki isn't consistent with the Sal. I still think it will be hit or miss from here on out with him.”

“You think, or you hope?” Chris winked.

“Look. I've always known there would be a new crop of young guns coming for both of us. I just didn't think one would peak at the fucking Olympics, on _my_ ice.”

“If I didn't know better, I'd say you were out for blood darling. I'm honestly surprised you didn't go to Worlds just to decimate him with your legendary Russian artistry.”

Victor stopped at that, then heaved a deep sigh. “I'm... I'm not begrudging him. I just... fuck, Chris. That was my only chance to win an Olympic gold medal in Russia. Even if I do make it to one more Olympics, it... it won't be the same.”

“Sometimes wanting something too much causes us to lose it just as fast,” Chris replied pointedly.

“That's what Yakov said too. He said I was tight in both the short and long. Even told me I should take a page from Katsuki's book and skate like I have nothing to lose. And I did, for a long time, because I knew no one could beat me. But maybe I'm not as infallible as I thought I was. Maybe I got too comfortable...”

“And when Katsuki skated before you in the short and threw down the gauntlet, you didn't know what to do with it.”

Victor sighed heavily. “Yeah. I guess not. Anyway... when does the stream start?”

“Oh. Let me check,” Chris said, calling up the schedule on his phone. “Looks like we'll need to get up early. 6 am our time, since Worlds are in Japan.” Chris smirked over his phone at Victor. “You really should have gone, it would have been sweet revenge to beat him on his home ice.”

“That was exactly why I didn't want to go,” Victor said.

“Does the steelhearted Russian Victor Nikiforov have a soft spot for this adorable little Japanese boy?” Chris teased.

Victor blinked, taken aback for a moment by the internal response Chris' words evoked. “No! I mean... I know what it's like to be under that kind of pressure. I highly doubt he'll survive another season of it. Let him have a chance to breathe before the wolves close in.”

 

 

Celestino Cialdini felt like he was floating out of his body at the present moment.

Yuri Katsuki had just landed the final jump in his long program flawlessly, and the home crowd was so deafening Celestino hoped Yuri could hear his music through his final spin sequence. Somehow, for the second time in as many major competitions, Yuri had thrown down two clean programs in both the short the day before and the long now, and the quad Salchow he'd been working on since he'd come to the Detroit Skating Club had finally found its literal edge. But Celestino had always known the potential was there. His method of coaxing it out gently, with the intent of peaking at the right time to earn a trip to the Olympics and Worlds had paid off, but far more than anyone had ever expected.

Yuri came flying over to Celestino's waiting arms, accepting the hug without reservation, smiling unabashedly.

“No fluke this time,” Yuri grinned as they walked over to the kiss and cry.

“Last time wasn't either,” Celestino reminded him. “You're right on schedule, buddy.”

The pair sat down to watch the replays of Yuri's flawless elements, with Yuri leaning forward to squint at the monitor before them, having difficulty seeing without the blue-rimmed glasses that were ever-present off the ice. He found himself grinning at the cleanly-landed quad Salchows, one a stand-alone and one in combination, as well as the quad toe loop near the end of the program.

“Like buttah,” Celestino smiled, patting Yuri's back as he watched.

“I can feel it now, I know just how to land it,” Yuri replied excitedly. “I finally can feel it!”

“I told you it would happen. It just takes about 562 thousand flops first,” Celestino laughed.

They both sat upright then as the announcer began to speak; a moment later both had flown up to standing as Yuri's marks crowned him as the new World Champion – with a score that broke Victor Nikiforov's World Record for the long program, set at Worlds the year before.

“Well that's a way to end the season!” Celestino grinned, hugging Yuri before he stepped forward to bow and wave to the crowd which was going ballistic. “Congratulations buddy.”

Yuri gathered the few stuffed animals he'd picked up, more to add to the pile of rust colored poodle plushies that were thrown to him at every competition once the fans had learned of his affinity for the breed. He always picked one or two to save, the rest being donated to children's hospitals in whatever city they were in. There was no way he could keep them all, especially now when what appeared to be at least two hundred had littered the ice at the end of his performance.

As they headed backstage Yuri paused at the manic squeal he heard coming from his left, the thump of skates in blade guards coming closer as his best friend and training partner, Phichit Chulanont of Thailand, careened over to hug him with a scream. Phichit had lain down two solid programs on his way to a top ten finish of his own, his best result to date.

“We did it Yuri!! We said we were going to kick butt at Worlds and we did!” Phichit cried.

“We did. You made it to the final group, I'm so proud of you!” Yuri grinned.

“Next year I'm gonna knock you off the podium!” Phichit winked.

“You're gonna need a quad first!” Yuri shot back with a grin before Celestino called him away for the media line.

“Just keep it short, they're gonna ask all the same questions at the press conference,” Celestino said. “Give yourself some time to breathe.”

“I know. I'm glad this will be the last time for now. Is it always going to be this crazy?” Yuri asked him as they waited for the silver medalist to finish his sound bites before the medal ceremony began.

“They'll be watching you, for sure. We're going to work on the whole social media thing. I didn't have to deal with that between my two Olympics, and we're gonna get a handle on that and the press. Don't worry, we'll keep things sane for you. I might not have come up in the technology age but that doesn't mean the media goes any easier on you. I got your back, buddy.”

Yuri smiled at him as he was called to the press line. “I'm glad.”

 

 

“See? I told you he was totally different at the Olympics.”

Chris and Victor had gotten up early once again to watch the long program and the backstage interviews that followed as they were streamed live, and Victor was stunned by the very different Yuri Katsuki he was seeing on the screen. Smiling, hugging his best friend backstage, cordial yet still reserved but definitely more prepared this time, the newly-crowned World Champion seemed remarkably relaxed after proving his Olympic win was anything but a fluke.

“Sucks that the season is over, his momentum might take a hit,” Chris said. “Unless he does one of the Japanese tours to keep busy.”

“Every time I've done a Japanese tour at the end of a season, they all show up two months after Worlds with the first draft of their new competitive programs for the next season to skate in front of audiences,” Victor said. “They don't quit, they're always ready to go. I honestly don't see him doing any less, the Japanese Federation will be pushing him hard now.”

“All the better for a very interesting season to come,” Chris said. “My old bones ache just thinking about keeping up with him.”

Victor snorted at that. “We both still have a lot left in the tank. We'll just have to see what next season brings.” He watched as Yuri gave a short interview to the Swiss broadcast team. “Why was he so rude in Sochi, I wonder?”

“Well you were staring daggers at the poor thing, he was probably terrified between that and being in a room full of Russians,” Chris noted, causing Victor's face to turn aghast.

“I was not!” he shot back.

“You were. You stared him down when he shook your hand before he got on the podium and then again when we got on the top step for photos. You looked like you wanted to slit his throat with your skate blade. I'd be surprised if he comes within a mile of you if you're ever in the same venue again.”

Victor sighed heavily. “I... was just upset. At myself, mostly. And maybe felt like he was being... disrespectful? I don't know. Did he talk to you at all?”

“Just to say congratulations. I think the poor dear was shell shocked. Clearly he's gotten some media training since. And remember, his coach was the king of putting a good spin on things.”

“Lost at the 1994 Olympics because he doubled the quad toe, and at the 1998 Olympics because he skated injured but didn't tell anyone but the USFSA rep and his team until it was over. His groin had been giving him trouble from trying to be the first to land the quad Sal, and it tore in the middle of his long program. It was so bad the injury ended his career totally, he couldn't even skate professionally. So he started coaching once he recovered,” Victor noted.

“Ohhh, you've been studying, good boy!” Chris chided. “And why do you know so much about Yuri Katsuki's coach?”

“It's not like it isn't all part of skating history. He was one of the first members of the Quad Squad from back then.”

“Mhm. I think someone's a bit obsessed. Anything else you want to know about the new World and Olympic champion? I mean, I ran into him a lot in juniors.”

“And you didn't say anything?”

“Why would I? We were never friends per se. He could never beat me though. In fact, the Olympics was the first time he'd managed it, ironically. We hadn't been in any of the same Grand Prix events since he went into seniors. I honestly thought he'd fade into the deep pool coming out of Japan, because there's a lot of talent and Katsuki was always inconsistent. Gorgeous lines, lovely dancerlike quality to his presentation, but he could fall apart if you sneezed his way before he went out. A bit of a mousey, nervous fellow when he was younger. But Celestino seems to have worked some kind of magic that has fixed at least the on-ice part.”

“Sounds like Celestino's got his work cut out for him. All that pressure can either fuel you or crush you. He'll be under a magnifying glass next season... time will tell if he goes up in flames when the spotlight shines through it and hits him,” Victor said.

“So philosophical. I think the mimosas are hitting you,” Chris teased. “Anyway, we should nap before our spa appointments later. Curse Japan for their time zones not cooperating with ours.”

The duo retreated to their rooms then, with Victor lying down in the guest bedroom. He'd only had his eyes shut a few minutes before he gave up and pulled his phone out again, scanning the skating media sites for more about Katsuki. After seeing several interviews that used the same sound bites he finally found video of the press conference, which hadn't been shown on the stream. Katsuki was still reserved, but more poised this time, and more talkative. Without the pressure of sitting between the two veterans that had been heavily touted as the top favorites to win the Olympic gold, the Japanese skater was much more at ease, if still frustratingly brief and almost evasive with some of his responses... until one question in particular, once again asked by a Russian journalist, the accent giving him away.

“Do you think you would still have won if the top skaters were here? Nikiforov, Giacometti, Popovich?” the journalist asked.

Katsuki looked back over his shoulder to where Celestino stood by, the pair sharing what appeared to be a knowing smile before the skater turned back toward the press group.

“I did it once with the same programs, the same TES and PCS. If they skated the same programs they did last time, then yes. It all depends on what you bring to the table each time. If you know you have to bring the main course, you don't show up with a side dish,” Katsuki replied with a soft smile; behind him Celestino broke into a grin. Victor recognized the quote; it was one that Celestino himself had used upon winning his first World Championship against a similar level of competition.

_So that's how it's going to be,_ Victor thought to himself as he turned off his phone, setting it down and pulling the blankets up to his chin, the early morning and mimosas finally catching up to him. _We shall see who sets the table next season, and who partakes of the feast._

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The off-season proves to be a rollercoaster as the pieces begin to fall into place for the first season of the next Olympic quadrennial.

“Yuri! Yuri!!!”

“Phichit. I just finally fell asleep two hours ago, this jet lag is killing me. It couldn't wait?”

“No seriously it couldn't!”

Yuri Katsuki groaned as his best friend and roommate Phichit Chulanont came bouncing into his room, landing on the bed and flopping on his back next to him. Yuri had, just the day before, returned home from two months' worth of touring in the Fantasy on Ice shows in Japan, as well as many appearances for his main sponsor, Mizuno, and a myriad of other sponsorship commitments. Although it had been great to be back in Japan and getting a couple of weeks at the end of his time there to relax and visit his family, Yuri had been grateful for returning to the stability and calm of Detroit. All he really wanted to do with his final week off-ice before the calendar start of the new season was sleep and readjust to the time difference, but clearly Phichit had his own ideas about that.

“All right, fine. What is it, so I can go back to sleep?” Yuri drawled, with everything but his face covered in blankets.

“Victor Nikiforov is skipping the Grand Prix season. He's not coming back before Russian Nationals minimum.”

Yuri uncovered his head, then propped himself on one elbow. “Seriously? Why?”

“Nobody knows yet. He just made the announcement about 15 minutes ago. First he pulled out of Worlds, and now he's skipping the GP? That's not like him at all.”

“Yeah... it's really not,” Yuri said, his tone a bit distracted.

“He did his usual Victor and Friends tour through Europe during the summer and there's rumors that they might do another leg with pro skaters during the competition season in the fall, but nothing's confirmed. There's still the rumor that he might retire too...”

“He better not!” Yuri snapped.

“Yuri... if he did, it wouldn't be your fault. I've told you that,” Phichit said.

Yuri dropped down onto his back with a heavy sigh, burying his face in his hands. “I still can't believe I beat him, Phichit. The first time I'm on the same ice as him, and I take away his only chance at winning an Olympic gold on Russian ice.”

“Yuri. You deserved that gold and you know it,” Phichit said. “Everyone has told you that.”

“I just wish I could have talked to him but... he... just wasn't how I expected him to be.”

“Yeah... he was kinda scary, I'll admit that,” Phichit said quietly. “Especially at the press conference.”

“Everyone's blaming me for him not competing in the fall aren't they?” Yuri asked.

“Not anyone who knows better. Most of the big skating sites are wondering if he's injured from touring, or just needs a break. Blades of Gold is trying to get an interview but he hasn't responded yet.”

“Wow, he loves that fan site. He's done tons of stuff for them over the years. If he hasn't responded to them then something big is up... I hope everything's okay,” Yuri said.

“He never talks about his family does he?” Phichit asked. “Even if something's up there, he'll probably never say.”

“No... he's never mentioned his family. He lived in St. Petersburg in the skater apartments there since he was really young. But a lot of the Russian skaters do that, and their coaches are their guardians till they come of age,” Yuri said. “That's apparently what happened when Yakov discovered him.”

“I can relate,” Phichit grinned. “But I'm still close with my family and I don't act like they don't exist.”

“He's just always been private,” Yuri said, finally relenting and grabbing his laptop from where he'd left it on the foot of the bed. Calling up Victor's most prominent fan-run website, he logged into the forum and read through some of the posts.

“SilverElf2006 is from St. Petersburg and was at the press conference. She says he walked in, said he was skipping the GP series and had a tentative return date set for Russian Nationals. He didn't answer any other questions and he didn't even sign autographs outside which is super unusual for him.”

“Well, I guess you don't have to worry about him for the GP series then,” Phichit said. “It's gonna be crazy as it is, so at least that's some pressure that's off.”

“But...” Yuri sighed again, pressing the heel of his hand into his temple. “I _wanted_ to compete with him again. I was hoping I'd at least get one event where he was so I could maybe talk with him... but then again, he seems to hate me now.”

“Aww Yuri, don't think like that. If he knew how huge of a fan you've been forever he'd probably feel different... maybe. He always seemed so cool in interviews and stuff. Maybe he was just really upset.”

“But even at the Olympic exhibitions he like... went out of his way to not even be nearby. I just... I mean I get it, and I thought he was going to be at Worlds in Saitama and it would have been the opposite if he beat me there but then... not the same because there will probably be another Worlds in Japan while I'm still competing. But... the Olympics were... yeah.” Yuri buried his face in his hands again. “What's that saying in English about not meeting people?”

“Never meet your idols, I think it is,” Phichit said. “But I really don't think you should give up Yuri, or let what happened there make you stop looking up to him. It was just a weird situation all around. I just really thought that with as long as he's been on top he'd have gotten how things go. I... I don't know what else to say.”

“I know,” Yuri replied. “And I'm trying to believe that he was just really disappointed and upset, which I totally get but... If he quits, and I'm the reason...”

“You really think he will? He's in great shape, there's no reason to. Chris is staying in even though he said he is taking it one season at a time.”

“I don't know. I hope not. I... I don't want him to. Victor's been a presence in the skating world for as long as I can remember. It doesn't make sense for him to just up and quit like this, he never gives up easily. I just... maybe it's selfish, but I at least want one more chance to compete against him for a major title, something not as huge as the Olympics, just to see if it felt different. Or something. I don't even know what I'm saying anymore, I'm exhausted.” Yuri closed his laptop at that, placing it at the foot of the bed again and flopping back down. “I need to sleep for like... a day. Then maybe I can think about this more.”

“Okay. I'm gonna go down to the pool anyway. You rest. I'll make us Pad Thai later.”

“Mmmmmm I've missed your cooking,” Yuri smiled. “That sounds great.”

“Did you get your mom's Katsudon while you were home?” Phichit grinned as he got off the bed.

“Ohhh yeah. One each for Worlds and Olympics and then one for every other medal, gold or not,” Yuri grinned. “I've got a couple kilos on my bum to get rid of that followed me home but it was worth it!”

Phichit laughed and “tucked in” Yuri before taking his leave, closing the door behind him. Once the room was down to the dim light filtering in around the edges of the room-darkening curtains, Yuri sank down deeply into his blankets once again.

_I'm so sorry, Victor. Please don't quit because of me..._

  
  


  
  


“VICTOR. WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?”

Victor held the phone away from his ear, but it might as well have been on speaker so he switched to that.

“How _DARE_ you call a press conference and make this decision without telling me!” Yakov bellowed on the other end. “I demand to know why you are not going to skate the Grand Prix!”

“This past season was intense. I've been pushing too hard for too long,” Victor said calmly. “I need a break.”

“You've never needed a break before! Listen, I know you wanted to win that gold medal, but you didn't. It's time to get over it and start working again. You have one week before the new season starts on the calendar. If you're not here for practice one week from today, I can't promise you'll have my undivided attention when you do return.”

“It's not like your two new junior kids haven't been taking your attention up anyway,” Victor said. “That was a very nice interview you did about Yurachka and Mila by the way. I'm sure Georgi appreciated you acting like he doesn't exist just as much as I did.”

“I did the same for you when you were a scrawny little brat Vitya, or have you forgotten?”

“No, Yakov. You've never let me forget.”

“You have one week. Be here or else.” The tri-tone that followed indicated that Yakov had ended the call, punctuated by the screen going into sleep mode on Victor's phone. He was just about to unlock it again when Chris saved him the effort of asking Siri to dial his number, his best friend's photo lighting up the screen as the call came through.

“You're off your game, I thought my phone would be ringing before I even got home,” Victor said by way of answering.

“I was meeting with my coach. Oddly enough we were discussing whether I wanted to take some time off as well, but I've decided against it. Now the Grand Prix season is going to be extremely boring and uneventful,” Chris replied. “But in all seriousness, what is going on Victor?”

“The media answer which will come out in a few days is that I got an offer to do a Canadian tour with some of the other skaters that are taking a season off. And since ISU rules state you can't do shows while actively competing, I decided to shake things up and do something different. Which brings me to the personal answer: I just wasn't feeling up to it. I'm tired of the same routine over and over, year in and year out. I had fun doing Victor and Friends this summer and I'm not quite ready to go back yet.”

“You know that it's that much harder to come back once you take a break,” Chris reminded him. “I really hope you're doing the right thing, darling.”

“I need to do something,” Victor said. “I'm just... my heart's not in it to compete right now, Chris.”

“That's not like you at all, Victor,” Chris said, his tone becoming more concerned. “Have you talked to anyone? The Olympics were four months ago and you shake things off in the blink of an eye usually...”

“The Olympics on home ice weren't just another competition that will come around again to Russia in a year or two.”

“But you do have a fair chance of going for at least one more Olympics.”

“I'll be 29 by then, Chris. They'll be calling me Grandpa and laughing at me.”

“Oh bullshit! I cannot see you not being on top of your game. Victor, I understand this was difficult for you to handle and I know how badly you wanted that gold. But quite honestly it's not worth throwing everything away. And if you continue to be in this state, I really think you should talk to someone,” Chris said, his tone slightly pleading.

Victor sighed deeply. “I'm fine, Chris. I'm just exhausted. And it wasn't just me that wanted that medal. It was all Yakov talked about. Everything we did in this last Olympic quadrennial was “For Sochi”. Everything was about Sochi. I was fucking having _nightmares_ about the goddamn place. For all he talked about not wanting it too badly on the ice, he dished out the opposite every day. And I'm just tired.”

There was a pause on the other end, punctuated by Chris drawing in a deep breath then exhaling sharply. “All right. But I'm going to keep in touch with you because I quite honestly don't like what I'm hearing. It's not like you. Just... you know you can call me anytime, right?”

“Of course I do. You're the only one who'll listen to my whining,” Victor said, a slight smile in his voice.

“Good. I do hope the break helps you though, in all sincerity,” Chris said. “But I'm warning you, don't you dare quit. I'll be on the first plane to wherever you are to knock some sense into that hard Russian skull of yours.”

A fond grin spread over Victor's face at that. “Of that, I have absolutely no doubt.”

  
  


  
  


The first of July marked the beginning of the new skating season on the calendar, the time when most skaters' vacations came to an end and they returned to the rink to begin preparations for the forthcoming season. Like the majority of their rinkmates, Yuri and Phichit already had music picked out for their programs, and had been working with Celestino on paper to come up with a basic framework. Yuri's short program was already shaping up nicely as he'd done a rough draft version on the summer tour, so he began the new season already ahead of the game. He had intended to continue his studies at Wayne State in Detroit in the fall, but after the unforeseen events of the Olympics and Worlds, he'd opted to defer and concentrate on skating fully for now, knowing that the eyes of the skating world would be on him in the coming season and the pressure to do well far too great to attempt to balance both.

For as much as a night owl as Yuri was, during the summer it was a necessity to get up early and get at least some quiet time in the rink. With school out of session things got busy in the recreational side of things, and since the Olympics there had been spectators hanging out in the bleachers watching the practices. That was why he and Phichit were the first to the rink on the hottest of summer mornings, with Celestino not even due in for another hour. The morning staff were already in, with the pair grabbing a light breakfast at the cafe inside the complex before heading to the warmup room.

“I wonder if the GP assignments will come out today like they promised,” Phichit said as he stretched, with Yuri over by the ballet barre doing the same.

“They're always late as far as the hour they're posted, but they usually end up coming out the day they say,” Yuri said. “The only thing I can see holding them up is Victor announcing with such short notice that he was skipping it. They might be scrambling for the alternates.”

“I wonder if he'll change his mind,” Phichit said. “It seemed so out of nowhere.”

“If not him, the RSF,” Yuri said. “He's always been known for doing things on his own, and then Yakov has to do damage control. He's kind of impulsive and reckless that way.”

“With my luck I'll end up going head to head with him,” Phichit laughed. “Because my first GP season won't be stressful enough.”

“Honestly, the only time I really got nervous with GP events was when it was NHK, like last fall. It was the first time I got assigned to my home country's GP and it's really hard to skate on home ice. But it did prepare me better for Worlds. Once I got through it the first time and won gold at home, I was able to think of Worlds as just another comp.”

“Anything after the Olympics has got to feel like just another comp,” Phichit said.

Yuri smiled at that as he slowly dropped into a split on the floor, arching his back as he held onto the barre above his head. “Yeah... this year will be a little more stressful because everyone is going to expect perfection. But Ciao Ciao has already been talking with me a lot about it. Any time I mess up even if it's a silver, people will be screaming about how I didn't do well and never should have won the Olympics. The once every four years armchair skaters is what he calls them. I just have to remember that I'm human and that I'm only as good as my last competition. Every time you step out there it's different, and anything can happen.”

“It makes me wonder if Victor was nervous. That had to be so much pressure on him,” Phichit mused.

“I'm sure it was. When you're the best in the sport like that and with as passionate as Russian fans are about skating, it's got to creep in. I'd like to think he's good enough to overcome that but we're all human and I think people forget that sometimes when you're on top of your game as consistently as he always has been.”

The pair finished their warmup and headed into the rink, lacing up and saying hello to the other two elite level skaters in their morning group. Yuri paused to look over the pristine ice surface, as yet untouched for the day. His favorite thing was being the first to leave tracks, the ice silky under his blades before the myriad of other skaters and resurfaces over the course of the many sessions left it feeling a bit more coarse by the time his afternoon slot began. He glided out, enjoying the silence as he meandered along, mixing stroking with rockers and 3-turns to wake up his legs and body. By the time he and Phichit had warmed up fully Celestino had arrived, and the pair began some basic on-ice exercises to start their day.

  
  


  
  


Victor did not expect to hear from Chris on Grand Prix Assignment day, as there was nothing to discuss in Victor's mind since he had bowed out of the GP Series. And that was why Chris' first words threw him off even more.

“So you changed your mind?” Chris asked.

“What do you mean?”

“You're on the list for Rostelecom and NHK, darling.”

“Maybe they had the list set to go and didn't have time to take me off. I had no intention of doing them.”

“Did you have programs ready?”

“You know me, I've always got two or three concepts for each on hand. I knew what I was going with and I've been working on them, just not at Yubileyny. I'm back at the rink I started out at for now. I didn't feel like being around everyone. I was going to use them for the tour and then they'd be ready for Nationals.”

“Well from what I'm seeing online, this wasn't a mistake. Yakov confirmed your participation via the RSF.”

Victor blinked, and Chris knew by the silence on the other end that this was news to his friend.

“Fucking Yakov!” Victor finally snapped. “I'll have to talk with him later, once I'm not in a state of rage.”

“Well then you probably don't want to know what other news I have for you,” Chris said. “I can guarantee you won't like it.”

  
  


  
  


“So not only is Victor doing the GP after all... the ISU clearly wants to sell some tickets. I knew they'd throw you into the fire but man, this is next level.”

Celestino was sitting with Yuri and Phichit in his office, processing the news the Grand Prix assignments had brought forth.

“So they're sending Victor to the same two competitions I'm going to,” Yuri said. “I shouldn't be surprised but damn. I mean, there's a chance this is a mistake and they just didn't take him off the list in time but...”

“Oh crap,” Phichit said, scrolling through Twitter on his phone. “According to Golden Skate and now the ISU official site, Victor's original announcement wasn't official. Yakov told the RSF he was still going and now Victor's released a statement saying he's had a change of heart and is going to compete.”

Celestino patted Yuri's shoulder reassuringly. “Look, all this means is you have to be on top of your game, whatever that entails on the day. It's going to be fine. By the time we get to the first comp, you'll be ready to go. These programs are the most technically-demanding you've done yet, especially with your footwork and spins being level 4 already. I don't know about the rest of the world but I don't make perfection mandatory. I want _your_ best above all else, no matter where that puts you in the standings. Remember that.”

Yuri smiled softly and nodded. “I know. I just feel like I have so much to prove now...”

“Think about how many skaters have cut their losses and run over the years after they won Olympic gold. The fact that you've stayed in and want to keep competing already tells everyone you mean business. All you have to do is skate like I know you can, and you'll knock 'em dead,” Celestino grinned.

  
  


  
  


“I figured you'd show up here sooner or later.”

Victor had unceremoniously burst into Yakov's office at the rink practically spitting fire. “I told you I wanted to take the Grand Prix Series off! Why couldn't you respect that?” he snapped. “And you know goddamned well that I had nothing to do with that 'joint statement', nor did I change my mind.”

“Because I heard you've been training competitive programs under my nose and if you can do that, you can get off your ass and compete. It's time to stop wallowing and get back on track,” Yakov growled.

“And how much say did you have in my assignments?” Victor asked pointedly; Yakov's silence in response told him all he needed to know.

“So this is more about you wanting me to beat Katsuki and get 'revenge' isn't it?” Victor continued. “More about your bruised ego that my domination over the sport was broken than anything I want or need.”

“The Victor Nikiforov I know would be out for blood right now,” Yakov replied, staring Victor down with his usual scowl. “Not hiding out at the kiddie rink while Katsuki keeps winning. Look. The Federation isn't going to foot the bill for you lazing about and doing random exhibition tours in Canada. They want their champion back on the circuit. Georgi isn't going to beat Katsuki. You're the only one that can, if you start working on the quad loop immediately.”

“We both know I am not consistent with it at all. The loop is my weakest jump as a triple, the one that if I'm going to miss anything, it will be that. I honestly don't know if I've got the strength to do it as a quad. I'd rather perfect the Salchow and the flip as quads in combination, the base value would be comparable and it wouldn't be so hard on my body. Katsuki has four years less wear and tear and with the way the system is now, we can structure things to have comparable points. Those are my terms. If you want me to do this, you have to listen to what I want and how I want to do it. Or you and the RSF can go fuck themselves.”

Yakov sat stone-faced for several minutes, swiveling his chair to stare out into the courtyard of the sports complex. Victor knew this game well; he'd dealt with it since he was a child. But the difference now was that while as a child and young teen this silent treatment would have terrified Victor; as an adult he was mildly annoyed but mostly just bored.

Finally, Yakov turned back to face him. “Fine. Sal and flip in combination with toe loops. But I want you to practice the quad loop for at least 15 minutes a day, and if you start landing it, up to 30 minutes. If it is consistent enough by the championship competitions against Katsuki, we will use it.”

Victor knew the terms would be the best he could get, and relented with an aggravated sigh. “Fine. But I'm leaving it up to you to call the Canadian promoters and break the news that they'll need to find another headliner.” And with that he spun around and began to make his way out of the office.

“Your first session is at 09:00 tomorrow. Do _not_ be late!” Yakov bellowed after him; Victor slamming the office door shut was his only response. He walked along the boards lining the main rink, the altercation having attracted some attention from Georgi and the two new juniors, Yuri and Mila. Victor absently mused that even in his own rink he couldn't get away from that name; he was being haunted by Yuris nipping at his blades. He decided then that he would call the Russian newcomer Yura, to avoid developing misplaced contempt for the child.

As he walked the short distance home – lord, why had he gotten an apartment that he could see the damn rink from? – Victor had begun to feel that his life was somehow no longer his own. The one thing that had brought him the most joy for the greater part of his twenty-five years, the one thing that provided a way out of the dead-end life he would have had otherwise, had suddenly turned into the one thing that he resented the most. Perhaps he just needed to finish processing all that had happened at the Olympics. Maybe he did need to get back out there, to skate against Katsuki and have one satisfying win on Russian ice against him, just to get his spirit back.

Or maybe it was the beginning of the end.

Victor didn't like how that thought sat in his gut, and shoved it about as deeply as he could into the back of his mind as he returned to his apartment.

_No. Admit it, you need to know if you can beat him. You need to know if you still have what it takes. You need to teach him a les--_

Victor stopped himself then as he greeted his dog Makkachin, smiling as he ruffled the fur atop the Standard Poodle's head, then went through the motions of feeding him.

_Katsuki doesn't deserve your anger. That's on you. You didn't listen when Yakov wanted you to push the boundaries. You let your fear of injury get in the way and you didn't have the skills needed to beat him. You're slipping. Stop being a goddamn baby and get back out there._

“Fine,” Victor said aloud to no one, though Makkachin paused from munching on his kibble for a moment, raising his head to look at his owner quizzically before returning to his dinner. “If the ISU wants a fight, they'll get it. But I'm not going to destroy him...” His voice left him then as he found himself unable to say his next thought out loud, even if there wasn't anyone there to hear the words.

_Because he doesn't deserve to feel like I do right now. Like there's nothing left if I don't succeed..._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It should probably be noted that while I've been a follower of skating for the majority of my life, I have never actually skated. But reading over the years about what it's like to be on the ice, the daily routines of skaters, etc. is where I'm drawing that "inside information" from. I do not claim to be 100% accurate, but I'll certainly do my best to portray things as best I can.
> 
> Anyway, sorry that this chapter is rather short (by my standards anyway). It almost feels like a prologue part 2 but not quite. Once the story kicks into the competitions, I think I'll be a bit more of my long-winded self. :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Victor begins to learn more about Yuri at their first head-to-head competition since the Olympics, while also realizing more about himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I am not very proficient at crunching numbers when it comes to scoring skating (read: not at all), especially with a system that is no longer in use, having been changed starting with the current skating season. I do, however, know the hierarchy of the jumps and which are more difficult/would be worth more points done alone and/or in combination. I have done my best to be accurate at least in that regard, but may, throughout the course of this story, go back and tweak any errors I find I've made. If that happens, I'll make note of it here.
> 
> That said, I fixed a typo in Chapter 1: Yuri is not capable of executing a quad Salchow/quad toe loop. He's good in this story, but not *that* good lol!

Victor had lost count of how many times over the years he had competed in this same venue in Moscow. Most of the A level competitions happened there, with St. Petersburg occasionally thrown in to mix things up. But Rostelecom always seemed to be in the same place, and as such it made everything that much more routine.

He tried to repress the feeling of going through the motions as he settled into his room. A big enough star in Russia now that he could request and get his own private hotel room for all competitions in or outside of the country, Victor preferred to be alone. Working around another person's schedule when he generally slept as much as possible especially when jet lag was involved had proven to be annoying at best and difficult at worst, so he'd nipped that problem in the bud as soon as he won his first World title.

His phone chimed with the first of the many reminders he'd set, this one to head downstairs for his accreditation and event schedules. He had about an hour before the it started, and he hoped to get there before the majority of the athletes started to pile in. He was usually social, known for being cordial with just about everyone, but this time Victor wasn't feeling it. At first he couldn't pin down the sense of dread hanging over him until he reluctantly realized it was because he didn't want to run into Katsuki this early on. But then again, the skittish Japanese skater would probably avoid him, which was just as well.

A shower and change into his Team Russia gear later he paused while making a last appraisal of his hair to stare at himself in the mirror, and even something about his own reflection felt off. He'd worked hard, there was no reason his confidence should be low coming into the first competition of the season; in fact he was more than ready. Maybe it was the fact that he had a viable challenger for the first time, after being held aloft by the praise and accolades of the Russian Skating Federation. The Russian media had already put the “redemption” spin on Victor's first skating season post-Olympics loss, as if the three seasons prior hadn't happened. One competition with less than gold, and just about everyone was treating him as if he was starting from the bottom.

His phone chimed again with a second reminder that the accreditation room opened in 5 minutes. He looked down and found no messages from Yakov yet, which meant his coach was either expecting Victor to arrive fashionably late, or had actually remembered that he knew what to do at least off the ice. The months of training leading up to his first competition of the autumn had been hard, focused, and had left Victor wondering if Yakov had also forgotten the three seasons Victor had dominated the skating world due to one loss that was apparently unforgivable.

Finally, Victor drew in a deep breath, exhaling sharply; after one more check in the mirror, he took up his room key card and headed downstairs to the main banquet hall of the hotel. He recognized just about everyone he spotted milling about in the lobby and took advantage of the local media being occupied with the arrival of the Chinese skaters to disappear down the corridor that lead to the banquet hall. There were only a few people outside the open doors, and he hoped that his timing had been impeccable enough to make a smash and grab of what he needed and then retreat to his room until practice in the morning. But as he turned into the doors, he'd found that judgment flawed.

The international skating media was clustered around Team Japan, who as per usual, were punctual almost to a fault. He'd always remembered the Japanese skaters being courteous and respectful, always making it a point to be on time and sometimes even early for everything. He'd apparently worked so hard to put one Japanese skater in particular out of his mind that Victor had forgotten that he'd most likely run into them if he went too soon. Cursing himself for not keeping to his fashionably late routine he slipped into the room, trying not to attract attention as he took in what was going on.

Japan's strengths were in singles and as such, two ladies and two men stood at the table signing in. At first Victor was completely confused; wasn't Katsuki supposed to be here? Neither of the men looked like him; in fact, one looked much more like a classic nerd complete with thick-lensed, blue-rimmed glasses and a mop of shaggy hair.

As Victor moved closer to get in line when a few other skaters and coaches began coming in he found himself completely surprised when, as the glasses-wearing skater began to walk away a British media person called “Yuri! Yuri! May I have a quick word?” and he realized that he'd been looking at Katsuki all along. He marveled at how completely nondescript Yuri appeared, to the point that almost no one seemed to recognize him until the British reporter called his name. Victor absently wondered how he could pull that off, as he couldn't even walk the streets in St. Petersburg with Makkachin without being stopped a few times along the way for autographs or selfies.

Victor stepped up to the table and received his packet of materials, putting on his usual smile and the wink that had become almost habit. It was an affectation that he'd found put people at ease, made him more “relatable” and less “god-like” to fans. He envied Katsuki, who despite having had a very respectable season just prior including a National Championship and the Olympic gold that had put him squarely in the limelight of the skating world, did not seem to have a need to hide behind such things.

The room had gotten a bit more noisy as Victor turned to leave and he cast a quick glance around to see that more skaters and their teams had begun to file in right off the shuttle buses from the airport. He took advantage of the media being crowded around the United States team to weave his way through the growing crowd, slipping out of the open double doors into the hallway. As he began to walk away, he found himself stopped short by someone casually speaking his name.

“There's Victor, don't you want a picture?”

Whether the person was an athlete in the skating world or a fan, Victor had never liked walking away once he knew someone wanted a moment with him. It was something he'd always enjoyed while he had been coming up in the ranks; it was perhaps at this particular time the only thing he'd still looked forward to. Putting on a genuinely warm smile – after all, it was probably one of the first-year Senior skaters, and probably looked up to him – he turned and looked around for the source of the voice.

“Does someone want a photo?” Victor asked with a smile, tone playful. “I heard my name.”

At first, no one stuck out as he scanned the milling people that had been just behind him, but a second later a pair of brown eyes framed in blue plastic met with his. Katsuki had been standing with the twins from Italy, Michele and Sara Crispino, and it had been Sara's voice Victor had heard. For a moment no one moved, with Sara looking from Yuri to Victor, then turning back to Yuri and giving him a gentle nudge to the shoulder and murmuring encouragingly. Katsuki's face flushed and before Victor could even take a step forward, the Japanese skater turned, said something to Sara and hastily took his leave. Pulling his roll-away bag behind him and hurrying to the secondary bank of elevators at the end of the hall, he disappeared into one just before the doors closed. Victor stared after him in confusion, his gaze not averting from the closed elevator doors until he saw Sara coming toward him in his peripheral vision.

“Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt you,” Sara said in an apologetic tone; her brother Michele came up behind her wearing a slight scowl (which, if Victor remembered correctly, wasn't uncommon). “Yuri's just really shy, I probably shouldn't have put him on the spot like that.”

“You asked him if he wanted a photo,” Victor replied. “Did he?”

Sara smiled at that. “I thought everyone knew how big a fan he's always been of you,” she replied. “He's always mentioned it in interviews, it's not hard to miss because he rarely does them. I guess he didn't get a chance to get one with you at the Olympics, so I thought I'd help him out.”

Victor blinked at that. “Oh... I... wasn't aware. I didn't know much about him before the Olympics. It seemed like he'd come out of nowhere.”

“Michele and I have known him since coming up in Juniors,” Sara said. “He's always talked about it. But I kind of forgot for a minute about how last season ended and... yeah. I kind of messed up a bit and embarrassed him.”

“I see. Well, I'm sure we'll catch up to each other at some point,” Victor said with a cordial smile. “Anyway I need to be going, good luck to you both.”

Victor turned and headed quickly through the lobby then toward the main bank of elevators, managing to catch an empty one going up. Closing the doors before anyone else could get in and riding up to his floor thankfully without another stop he hurried back to his room, sitting down heavily on the bed before the door slammed shut behind him. His mind raced for several moments before he picked up his phone and fired off a text to Chris, who would probably just be getting home from practice if his time zone calculations were correct.

**Victor:** Just found out something about Katsuki that I didn't know. Apparently he's a fan of mine?

It took about ten minutes, but just as Victor began to figure Chris may have stayed late at the rink, he heard the text tone he'd designated for him in reply.

**Chris:** I had heard rumors, but getting anything out of him has always been a struggle. If he doesn't know you well he's painfully shy, and even when he's familiar with you it takes a while for him to warm up. Who told you this?

**Victor:** Went down to get my accreditation packet and heard a voice asking someone if they wanted a photo with me. Turned around and saw him with the Crispino twins. Katsuki ran off like a scared rabbit, and Sara said he'd been embarrassed and that she thought everyone knew what a big fan he was of me.

**Chris:** If he didn't say anything to me, I can bet it's because it's well-known that you and I are close friends. Probably didn't want it to look like he was trying to get to you through me. But that does explain a lot about how terrified he seemed at the Olympics.

Victor paused then, remembering how Katsuki hadn't even been able to look at him, let alone say a word, and a sinking feeling hit the pit of his stomach.

**Victor:** I don't know what to do. Should I try to talk to him?

**Chris:** I would wait until the banquet. The poor thing is probably already stressed to hell and back all things considered.

**Victor:** True.

**Chris:** I thought you'd done your research darling? You're slipping.

**Victor:** I got busy once the off-season ended. No time for anything but skating, eating, and sleeping. It's why I haven't been in touch as much.

**Chris:** I hope Yakov isn't being too harsh.

**Victor:** You have no idea. Between him and the Russian media calling this my redemption tour, I think I'm growing blades in my brain.

**Chris:** This is my reminder that you can call me anytime you know. I know it's normal for you to be busy but I do worry about you.

**Victor:** I know. Thank you. Anyway I'll be in touch, I'm going to order some room service and a movie and hide from the world till practice tomorrow.

** Chris:  ** Sounds like an optimum plan, darling. Good luck, I'll be keeping track of how things are going. :*

** Victor:  ** Thanks. I'll talk with you soon. :)

Victor grabbed the room service menu and ordered, then changed into lounge clothes before flopping on the bed and tearing open his accreditation packet. The first thing he looked for was the practice and event schedule, finding he was in practice group A. He then checked the list of skaters that were in each group. If the rankings were used to put the skaters into their groups for the practice as per usual...

As he'd suspected, Victor found Katsuki in group A as well. With Yuri now in the top 6 in the world, it stood to reason he'd share practice ice with Victor. They would be in the last group to skate in the short as well, with the draw happening after tomorrow's men's practices to determine the skate order.

At that moment, Victor decided that as much as Yakov had wanted him to go the route of intimidation by being the “stoic Russian legend” instead of his usual lighthearted self outside of competition, Victor wouldn't take that route. Knowing what he knew now, he'd begun to realize that there was far more to his interaction with Katsuki at the Olympics than he'd realized. A knock on the door produced his dinner and once the concierge left, Victor sat down at the table in his room with his phone and hit the button for Siri.

“Siri, find me interviews about Yuri Katsuki the figure skater.”

  
  


  
  


Yuri hurried into his room, grateful that his roommate had decided to go to dinner with his coach. He sat down on the bed, immediately pulling out his phone and firing off a text, knowing that his best friend would likely still be awake half a world away in Detroit even though it was close to midnight.

** Yuri:  ** OMG PHICHIT I'M GOING TO MURDER SARA CRISPINO

It took less than thirty seconds for Yuri to see the dots indicating Phichit was typing a response, and it made him laugh softly. Phichit had only just gotten his own iPhone upon moving to the US, and had been addicted ever since.

** Phichit:  ** What did she do now, hug you again?

** Yuri:  ** NO WORSE, SHE ASKED ME LOUDLY IF I WANTED A PICTURE WITH VICTOR WHEN HE. WAS. RIGHT. THERE. AT ACCREDITATION

** Phichit:  ** WHAAAAATTTTTTT

** Yuri:  ** I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO SO I. JUST RAN. AND GOT IN THE ELEVATOR. AND NOW I FEEL LIKE A GODDAMNED IDIOT.

** Phichit:  ** Did she have a major brain fart or

** Yuri:  ** I DON'T KNOW. Ugh sorry I'll stop with the caps BUT OMG WHY

** Phichit:  ** Was he mad? Did he say anything?

** Yuri:  ** I didn't give him a chance. I was not ready for that level of interaction dghsjaghsdjgsh

** Phichit:  ** I wonder if he found out from Chris that you're a fan

** Yuri:  ** I never said anything to Chris. I didn't want him to think I was trying to meet Victor through him. I really have never said anything too personal to Chris actually

** Phichit:  ** I told you back in the summer that Victor would probably be nice to you if he found out how big of a fan you are. Maybe Sara told him? She knew iirc

** Yuri:  ** Yeah she knew. She was trying to talk with me before that but her brother looked like he wanted to kill me so yeah

** Phichit:  ** God Mickey is so annoying why does he do that. Wait, he's not even competing in Russia why is he there?

** Yuri:  ** Because he follows her everywhere and she does the same. I guess they're pretty close. They are twins after all. But yeah.

As Phichit replied with something else regarding the twins, Yuri tore open his accreditation packet and scanned the schedule and practice groups. Upon reading it, he picked up his phone again.

** Yuri:  ** SHIT WE'RE IN THE SAME PRACTICE GROUP. I FORGOT WE WOULD BE NOW GAHDSGJSDAGHASJGHSJGHJGASH HELP

** Phichit:  ** Okay breathe Yuri! It will be fine. Just go into practice zone mode and it will all be good. You know how competition goes, no one gets really friendly till after it's over. So you've got that to cover you for now. Just focus on the competition and you'll be okay. I wish I was there though :(

Yuri took a few deep breaths as Phichit's reminders settled in.

** Yuri:  ** You're right. I can do this. We were in the final group together at the Olympics. I can handle this. Besides, Ciao Ciao will be there with his motivational speeches.

** Phichit:  ** That's better! See, you'll be okay!!!

** Yuri:  ** Anyway you should sleep. I'm going to order some dinner and crash. I'll talk to you tomorrow after practice.

** Phichit:  ** Okay! I'll be watching YouTube and Instagram for practice vids! Good luck! <3

Yuri put his phone down, rifling through his packet a bit more before he set it aside and began rummaging through his suitcase for sleep clothes.

_Well this first competition has already started off with a bang. Let's hope it doesn't explode..._

  
  


  
  


The first official practice of any event was almost like another part of the competition in some countries. Victor wasn't surprised that both the press area and a good amount of the stands were filled for the men's practices especially. While the B group which consisted of lower-ranked skaters had proven to be enough of a draw to pull in about half an arena of spectators, during the Zamboni flood of the ice between the groups the venue had filled up nearly to capacity. Clearly, no one wanted to miss the first time Victor Nikiforov and Yuri Katsuki would be on the same ice again since the Olympics, with the rematch unfolding once again on Russian ice.

Victor was always the last to head out to rinkside, as he'd often found the practice of going out and waiting with the group as they impatiently bounced and paced rather annoying and distracting. After looking about and finding Yakov most likely already waiting out at the boards Victor did one last check of his laces to make sure they were tucked in properly, then made his way out of the locker room. He came out to find the Zamboni with a couple of passes left to do and Yakov setting up his station in the usual preferred spot just at the end of the curve of the right hand corner. Victor stretched his back as he stood by, at first focusing inward until he heard a familiar voice that brought back a memory he'd been fighting to keep from surfacing.

“Now, we're just in practice here. This isn't the competition, so there's no reason to get tight. We'll try the Sal as standalone, but for your runthrough, if you don't feel up to it I want you to mark the jumps because you're still jet laggy and I don't want you taking an unnecessary fall.”

Victor made a nonchalant glance over to his left to see Celestino talking with Yuri, then faced forward, watching the Zamboni do its final run down the center of the ice.

“You and I know what everyone watching is focusing on. All I want you to do is your best. I don't want you to push yourself. Your physical and mental health is the most important thing. Go out, do your stroking for the warmup like at home, then come back to the boards after I've seen where you're at. Okay?” Celestino instructed.

“Okay,” Yuri said, his voice soft as Victor remembered it from the press conference.

“Don't worry buddy, you got this. Last season's gone, clean ice starts now. The Zamboni just did its job, now you go do yours.”

Victor was dimly aware of Katsuki moving over nearby as the six men clustered around the entrance to the ice, anxious to be on their way. Once the door in the boards was open they spilled out, each man immediately picking up speed and settling into their routines. As the warmup ended Victor finally headed over to where Yakov waited.

“I want you to practice the quad loop and quad Salchow until your music comes up,” Yakov said.

“I need to get my legs under me a bit more first. I'm right after this skater, I'll start with triples,” Victor replied, gesturing to the ice where the first skater was running through his short program as the other men expertly weaved their paths around him.

“Fine. But I want them both to be seen. And when you run your short, make it full. I want the media to see all the jumps.”

It took everything Victor had to not roll his eyes, as he'd noticed one of the many television cameras focusing on the two of them from off to his left. He nodded curtly and skated back out, picking a patch of ice to practice the triple version of the two jumps until he was called to center ice for his runthrough. Though it was the first season that all of the disciplines of figure skating were allowed to use music with lyrics for the first time in history, Victor had not been able to overcome the feeling that he was doing an exhibition performance rather than competition, and had chosen instrumental music this season as a result.

Victor's short program music was an epic orchestral piece by a Russian composer, perfect for the huge jumps that Yakov was insistent he perform. As he moved through the program, keeping the other skaters in his peripheral vision to avoid colliding with any of them he drew within, focusing for the first jump and landing a clean quad flip and an easy triple Axel. He was dimly aware of at least two men pausing by the boards, most likely to watch, but as he moved through his choreographic sequence he heard a section of the rink behind him erupt in cheers at something another skater did. Experience helped him to shut it out as he attempted a quad Sal-triple toe loop combination despite it still being a bit shaky on the landings of both jumps, and finished with a lightning fast spin sequence. He took his bows to loud applause, with a few Russian flags already popping up, then went over to Yakov for critique and a water break.

“You will need to practice the quad loop immediately,” Yakov snapped, not even mentioning his short program, causing Victor's brow to furrow as he gulped down nearly half his bottle of water.

“What's the big deal?” Victor said. “We were only tentatively going to try for it in the long.” Yakov was about to answer when Yuri Katsuki was called to center ice for his runthrough.

“Watch,” Yakov snapped.

Victor turned to watch as Katsuki began his short program, which took advantage of the new rule allowing lyrics by using ["Radioactive"](https://open.spotify.com/track/4G8gkOterJn0Ywt6uhqbhp?si=nE8bH0-6S6WhTxKM-30fjQ) by Imagine Dragons, the soft intro to the song making it seem the program would be quiet until Katsuki, perfectly-timed with the beat dropping in the first verse, landed the most effortless quad flip Victor had seen anyone attempt – a jump that, until now, had been attributed as Victor's signature.

“He has a quad flip,” Yakov growled as Victor's attention grew more fixed on Katsuki. “And it's possibly better than yours, if he lands it in competition.”

Katsuki continued his program with an equally-effortless triple Axel, his choreography crisp and powerful with a definite ballet influence. He seemed to feel the music through his whole body, with moments where he was even skating with his eyes closed. As the final jump combination came up, more cheers erupted as he executed a quad Salchow–triple toe loop, the combination that had helped him to win the Olympic gold. He finished with a strong, intricate choreographic sequence, much of it done one one foot, his edges secure and deep. The contingent of Japanese fans that had come for the competition went wild in the section of the audience where Victor had heard them during his runthrough, and much of the rest of the spectators applauded as well. Victor actually felt a bit annoyed that it appeared many of the Russians in attendance did not acknowledge what was quite an amazing performance.

“He's going to be tough to beat,” Victor asserted.

“That's why you're going to need to try the quad loop. I want you to work on it now. You have landed them in practice quite consistently,” Yakov said.

“Yakov, I'm not sure it's consistent enough to try in competition,” Victor disputed.

“That's why you will work on it now!” Yakov barked. “Now go, you have seventeen minutes left!”

Victor let out an exasperated sigh, setting his water bottle down before heading out to a clear patch of ice to practice the quad loop. His first attempts were deliberate triples to get the feel of the jump, and finally on the fourth try he attempted the quad, getting the rotation but stepping out of the landing. A gasp went up in the crowd at the attempt, with many cheering him on as he made a second attempt, with the same result as the first. _It never works when you're thinking too hard about it. He should know that. And I know this jump isn't ready._ After a third attempt that saw him land on the correct edge with a following bobble that necessitated a hand down on the ice, he scaled back to a few more triple loops before skating back over to Yakov.

“Why have you stopped?” Yakov griped. “You still have time.”

“Because it's not happening today and I'm not making a fool of myself trying to land something I obviously can't yet. It's too forced, and I'm not risking it,” Victor snapped back. “And that's the end of it.” He smacked his emptied water bottle onto the boards and whirled away to skate laps to cool down as the five minute warning to the end of the session was issued. As he took in deep breaths, letting himself glide as he watched Katsuki practice his very difficult spin sequences, the centering solid and body positions different and interesting. Even without his music Katsuki was impressive, the raw talent that had been on display at the Olympics and Worlds the season prior now even more polished. Victor remembered how he'd blossomed when his confidence had taken over, and what was even more impressive about Katsuki was that, if the bit of overheard conversation with Celestino was any indication, Katsuki was fighting his own inner battles.

And as the end of the session was called and the skaters were requested to leave the ice, Victor came to realize that the biggest advantage Katsuki had was that he was fighting himself first and foremost, with his coach assuring him that all that was expected was his best. Victor, he was coming to realize, had in the course of one competition, gone from competing against his own limits to being obligated to compete against someone else's. His skating was no longer his own, the skills that were once his greatest freedom now being commandeered to exact some sort of justice.

As he left the ice, Victor paid no heed to Yakov's incessant lecturing as he put on his blade guards. He walked away, pulling on his training jacket and heading into the backstage area, leaving Yakov bellowing behind him. As he passed Katsuki and Cialdini, the Japanese skater's coach was commending him on a good practice and reassuring him about what Katsuki perceived to be issues with the spin combination Victor had noted to be flawless.

Victor couldn't remember the last time he'd ever heard Yakov emphasize the things he'd done well, only the things that needed work. It was the only way of coaching he'd ever known, the Russian style of constant runthroughs and repetition until it was perfect. The emphasis on this had become even more pronounced since Victor had “only” won silver in Sochi. He hadn't won three consecutive World titles and gone three consecutive seasons undefeated to be treated as if he'd never skated well a day in his life.

And for the first time in that same life, Victor Nikiforov began to think, however slightly, about how everything could have gone differently, and how it could still go differently – how there was still a chance to save himself from hating the one thing he loved most.

The tiny spark had been lit, and rather than quashing it as he had so many times in his past, he tucked it away... for now.

  
  


  
  


Yuri was happy that the draw had gone his way. He hated skating first, and last was always the one everyone remembered the most. He'd drawn third in the final group, with Victor skating last, and for him that was optimal; the pressure of skating after Victor would have been insane on Russian ice. He'd even joked with Celestino that people would probably walk out if he skated after Victor. He'd done his best for the rest of the previous night to not think too hard about the short program.

Today's practice had been quite a bit less dramatic, with all of the skaters marking out jumps in their runthroughs and only working on a key quad so as to conserve their energy for the competition. He'd also tried hard to ignore the chatter going on regarding Victor, something about he and his coach being at odds; he'd put his earbuds in as soon as a couple of skaters began discussing it in the seat behind him on the shuttle from the hotel to the venue. Yuri himself had never fought with any of his coaches, but there had been rumors through the years that Yakov was pretty hard on Victor at times. He allowed himself the inward thought that he hoped Victor wasn't being pressured too much by his coach and Federation then let it go as the shuttle bus pulled up to the skaters' entrance at the back of the arena.

Celestino wasn't the type to hover over Yuri as he prepped for the competition, knowing that was something that often distracted him. Instead Cialdini kept an eye on his skater from a respectable distance as Yuri warmed up his body with yoga and dance stretches, walking through his program on the warmup mats, and did several jumps on the floor to get himself in the right frame of mind.

For Yuri, putting on his costume was always the moment that everything clicked in. Celestino had called it “suiting up for battle”, often using warrior-esque analogies to help bolster Yuri's confidence. Yuri had found that he quite liked that line of thought and used it accordingly. His suit of armor might be sparkly as hell, but when he put it on he still felt like he could take on anything thanks to the optimism Ciao Ciao had infused him with since he'd taken Yuri on as a student.

As Yuri sat down to lace up his skates he reflected on how different his current state of mind was compared to just a few years prior. His Japanese coach had helped him come up from childhood on, but his forte had been junior competition. In Yuri's last year with him before he passed his Senior tests, it had become increasingly obvious that Yuri's potential was beyond his current coach's expertise. It had been painful to come to that realization, and Yuri had cried trying to get through explaining why he had begun to look for another coach, but to his relief the feeling was mutual and the parting amicable. His then-coach recommended a few names, but tryouts with each hadn't felt right.

But when he'd heard about Celestino's desire to take on a few new Senior students after retirements post-2010 Olympics left him with openings, Yuri had taken the initiative to contact him. Even though Yuri had only been six at the time, he actually remembered watching Celestino in his final Olympics at Nagano in 1998. Well, he remembered the pretty hair the man had anyway, the trademark ponytail that was so unusual for skaters at the time. It had been those Olympics, from which Mari had home videos of Yuri “skating” in his socks on the floor in front of the TV, that had his older sister convince Yuri's parents to get him into skating lessons.

As he grew older Yuri had become a bit of a skating history buff, enjoying learning about the sport's many legends and their milestones as much as being a part of it. He'd read Celestino's autobiography and had always found his philosophies on the sport relatable. The former skater's coaching record had been impressive, with a few national champions and World top-fives to his credit, but he hadn't yet produced a star. That was fine with Yuri; he wasn't expecting to be one himself.

But from the moment he skated a tryout for Celestino after traveling to the rink in Detroit from Japan, there was a spark. Within the space of one performance, Celestino offered input on three things Yuri had been doing regarding presentation, and pointed out a few more long-term issues that would take time to address. His eye for the technical was amazing but most of all, Yuri liked Celestino's overall philosophy: Do your best, and what's meant to be will follow. The coach admitted that it had been built from his own soul-searching after coming up short at two Olympics, but it was something he'd felt was important enough to pass along to other skaters.

And as it turned out, it was just the motivation and support Yuri needed. Celestino helped Yuri address his anxiety, which was exacerbated by performance, by referring him to a sports psychologist once he'd moved to Detroit. They slowly chipped away at habits that weren't optimal in Yuri's skating. The first season was a rollercoaster, with Yuri still trying to commit to memory the new habits, both mental and physical, that he was learning. But by the middle of their second season together, everything had begun to click. But by the 2013-14 season, even though Yuri just missed the Grand Prix Final by five points, he became the Japanese National Champion... and then peaked at just the right time, which had been Ciao Ciao's plan for him all along.

A tap on his shoulder brought his mind back to the present after he'd been pacing around in his guarded blades, stretching and warming up his body while the music in his earbuds provided the soundtrack to his thoughts. He turned to find Celestino there and pulled the buds out.

“Almost time to go to the boards for warmup. How are you feeling?” Celestino asked him.

“I'm good,” Yuri replied.

“Alright,” Celestino said as they began to make their way toward the exit to rinkside. “Just remember the biggest thing: Just let it be. Skate to the best of your ability as it is _today_. Forget what you've done in the past. Every competition has a different level, a different mojo. Forget who's out there with you or who you're up against. All I want from you is your best on _this_ day, at _this_ hour, at _this_ moment. And above all, do your best to skate clean. If you have to triple, triple. If you have to pop, pop. Clean landings are more important than trying to land something you might injure yourself on.”

Yuri listened attentively as they walked out through the curtains that were held back by the volunteer, then came to a stop where the other skaters had gathered to wait for the clearance to head onto the ice. Celestino took Yuri's Team Japan jacket and ID lanyard, then gave his shoulder a firm pat.

“And above all: I believe in you. I know what you're capable of, and so do you. And even if you're not 100% clean after you give 100%, I'll still believe in you. Remember that,” Celestino said as the announcement of the officials ended.

Yuri smiled and nodded emphatically. “I will.”

“Go get 'em, buddy,” Celestino smiled in return as the skaters were called to the ice for warmup.

Yuri drew within, focusing on his usual progression of stroking around the ice and graduating up from single jumps, to double, then triple, and finally, a perfect quad Salchow right in front of the judges. The ice felt good under his blades, not too hard with just the right amount of spring. He tested a quad toe loop to see how the toe jumps felt and to gauge how much strength he'd need; too much power on a springy ice surface would cause him to fight for the landing harder due to too much power going in. Over the years he'd gotten fairly good at judging his ice, but Celestino had taught him a few things to look for that helped him immensely. “Control the ice, don't let it control you” had probably been the one thing that Yuri had grabbed onto early on in Celestino's coaching, and it was one he'd gotten quite good at ever since.

Before he knew it the one minute call went out and it was time to wind down; he chose to do his final spin sequence to get a feel for the grip of the ice, how much to pull in to keep from traveling. He spent the last thirty seconds gliding toward the entrance, momentarily distracted by a cheer going up from a group of Japanese fans who he acknowledged with a dip of his head and a smile. He was focused on Celestino moving forward to meet him with his blade guards when Ciao Ciao's attention averted for a moment to Yuri's right, causing him to skid to a stop just off to the left of the door in the boards as Victor Nikiforov had come up to the entrance too fast, appearing distracted enough that he hadn't seen Yuri there.

“Oh! Sumimasen!” Yuri exclaimed, bowing reflexively and staying to the left to allow Victor to pass.

“Oh, god, no that was me,” Victor replied, “Sorry. Go ahead.” A friendly smile accompanied his cordial tone.

Celestino gestured for Yuri to come forward and he hurried in, moving off to the side so Victor could enter. He put on his guards, with Celestino patting his shoulder as he noticed the flush over Yuri's face.

“He was in his zone. That wasn't intentional,” Celestino reassured him. “Don't worry about it.”

“I can already hear the bloggers spinning it though,” Yuri murmured as they headed backstage, causing Celestino to laugh.

Victor was careful to keep his distance from Katsuki after that, his own thoughts very similar to Yuri's. The Japanese skater's fans would be thinking Victor had done that intentionally in an attempt to intimidate, when in reality his head had been so deep in his own thoughts he simply hadn't been paying attention. Yakov seemed to think it was intentional and, to Victor's chagrin, didn't disapprove.

Victor had mixed feelings about skating last. On one hand, making a statement by being the last skater and laying down a clean program was always preferred and something he was quite good at; at the same time, it was difficult to stay warmed up. He also hated leaving his skates laced up for too long; if he left them tight now, his feet would ache too much by the time he got out there unless he either sat and kept them elevated, or kept pacing. Neither sounded like a good idea so he undid them, slipping out of them and sitting on the floor mats to keep his legs loose with some stretches.

Usually, Victor didn't watch the other skaters' programs, nor pay attention to their marks. He would focus solely on himself and his own performance because at the end of the day, that was the only thing that mattered. But his curiosity got the better of him and he padded over the mats in his socks to the monitor set up nearby, where a few others had gathered to watch Katsuki's short program. Victor had to admit that Katsuki cleaned up astonishingly well, the slicked-back hair and lack of glasses, along with the striking blue and green costume that appeared to call to mind the title of his short program music cutting quite the handsome figure on the ice. He crossed his arms and put on a serious face as Yakov came over just as the previous skaters' marks were announced and the cameras cut to Katsuki on the ice.

Yuri's program began with the quiet guitar intro to “Radioactive”, which lent itself well to the first required spin of his program. The ice felt good as his mind and body settled into character and he allowed the music to guide him, gathering himself for the first jumping pass. On his planned elements sheet, he'd written that it would be a triple Lutz, but Celestino had told him to gauge how he felt in that moment... so he did.

Backstage, Victor's eyes widened as Katsuki landed a pristine, clean quad flip right on the drop of the beat, causing the crowd to erupt in astonished cheers.

Yuri moved through the program, the bass of the music feeling as if it were grounding him. He sailed up into his favorite jump, the triple Axel, landing it with a long runout and a flourish of hands before he went into his choreographic sequence then connected it right to the straight-line footwork, another of his favorite elements and also strategically placed to give him a bit of a break to catch his breath. The halfway point of the program was marked during the footwork sequence affording any jumping passes extra credit, and he gathered himself for the combination which on paper had been designated as a quad toe loop-triple toe loop.

“Well, that just put me in third place,” the German skater standing next to Victor said as he watched Katsuki land what was rapidly becoming his signature, a quad Salchow-triple toe loop combination. “Who would have thought that Mr. Ball O'Nerves would be fucking landing shit like that?”

“How's that?” Victor asked him.

“Oh god, in Juniors that kid was a nervous wreck. Always worried about doing well but if you looked at him wrong, he'd do the Zamboni's job instead of jumps. Whatever Celestino did for him, there's got to be some witchcraft involved. I never thought I'd be calling him the Olympic Champion.”

Victor looked back to the screen where Katsuki hit his ending pose, the audience responding with, for the most part, a standing ovation. He also noted with amusement that the Japanese fans threw onto the ice a few rust-colored poodle plushies, including one that had been made in the image of Victor's own dog by one of Victor's Russian sponsors. Victor also noticed that it was the only plushie Yuri opted to pick up before he made his way to the Kiss and Cry.

“Yeah baby!” Celestino cried as Yuri came off the ice, hugging him with a hearty pat on the back. “You went all out today! You said you were feeling good but I didn't think it was _that_ good!” He draped Yuri's team jacket over his shoulders as Yuri bent down to put on his guards.

“The ice has a nice give to it. When it's like that I can usually land both quads so I went for it. But I think the flip will get called under, I might have landed slightly before I finished rotating,” Yuri said.

“It looked good to me,” Celestino said as they sat down; he pulled out Yuri's glasses from his pocket and handed them to him. “They're showing the replay, let's see if we can tell.”

Yuri leaned in to watch as they showed the quad flip in slow motion from an angle that would clearly reveal if he'd been under-rotated. Even with glasses he leaned in to scrutinize his edge, and found that he had actually been fully rotated in the air and had almost over-rotated instead.

“You almost went another eighth-turn, that's what you felt. You're getting too powerful there!” Celestino laughed.

“It felt too easy! Wow, good thing I hit when I did or I would have probably turned out on the landing,” Yuri replied.

Backstage, Victor's eyes had again gone wide at the replay of the huge quad flip Katsuki had executed, the near over-rotation an indication of how much power he'd had going into it. It made sense; with Katsuki's tight spins, he obviously had great control over how tightly he pulled in for the jumps. After seeing Katsuki's high marks which were a new personal best Victor turned away from the monitors, walking over to stretch his legs a bit more during the next skater before lacing up as the one just before him took to the ice.

“If you want to get ahead of him, you will need the loop,” Yakov said. “Do it in combination with the triple toe.”

“The combination is at the end of the program,” Victor said. “I don't know if I'll have the energy left for it. My legs will be tired. I'll do what I'm capable of today,” Victor said, realizing a second later where he'd heard that before.

“You will do what you need to be first after the short!” Yakov barked as a volunteer signaled for Victor to head to rinkside, at which he abruptly stood up and walked away from Yakov, getting a few steps ahead of him as he headed to the warmup area. The skater before him was in the last minute of his program so he jogged in small circles to keep warm, his mind working on what he needed to do and determined that the method would be his own. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Yakov take up his place at the boards as the previous skater finished, with Victor pulling off his blade guards and setting them near his coach on top of the boards before heading out to the ice as soon as the clearance was given.

Backstage, Yuri and Celestino had just finished doing press, after which they went over to the monitor to watch Victor's program.

“His planned content was the same as what you threw down,” Celestino said. “I don't think he expected that.”

“I hadn't seen anyone's content,” Yuri said as Victor took his place at center ice. “I just did what felt right. I think what I submitted was too conservative, now that I think about it. I'll have to rethink that for the long program.”

Victor's mind drew within as the haunting beginning of his music, [“Satellite Debris”](https://open.spotify.com/track/2NcjWwO1xPU5coZCUisgIL?si=9GIpvqaRQmuY9zkijm4o0w) began, using his first choreographic sequence to lead into where the music broke into the full symphonic section. Like Yuri had, Victor used that dramatic musical moment for his first jumping pass. He gathered himself accordingly and for a brief moment wavered as he made the split-second decision to change his jump entry from the loop to the Salchow. He felt the four rotations complete but his body was slightly tilted from having changed the entry at the last second, leading him to fight a little for the landing which was nonetheless clean but would probably cost him a bit in GOE. The footwork sequence led into the required triple Axel which he completed with one hand over his head, adding to the difficulty to compensate.

Yuri watched as Victor powered through each element, the perfection he'd always admired and appreciated in Victor's skating causing him to fanboy even if it was only internally. If he'd been home watching with Phichit, he'd have been yelling in glee at Victor changing the program on the fly; but not only could that not happen here, he also had to remember that whatever Victor did affected him as well.

Victor knew as he came to the end of his spin sequence that his legs would not support another edge jump, especially not a quad. Thinking on his feet, he set up and executed a flawless quad flip-triple toe loop combination; the difficulty was close to Katsuki's combination, but whether or not it was enough, it was what Victor knew he was capable of today. He had never done his signature flip in combination in competition before, so for him it was a new goal attained.

Backstage, Yuri's eyebrows raised in surprise at the final combination. “Wow, that's the first time he's done that in combination,” he said to Celestino. “I thought for sure he'd try a quad loop there though.”

“He was not solid on the loop in practice at all. What he laid down was pretty close to yours. You guys might be neck and neck, it could come down to the PCS score because both his and your GOEs were all +2.5 to +3,” Celestino replied.

Victor tuned out Yakov's lecturing as he watched the replay of his elements. He was pleased to see the landing of the Salchow wasn't as messy as it had felt to him, though still noticeable enough that it probably cost him at least .5 in GOE though he'd still be in the positive value overall. He noticed with a bit of concern that the landing edge on the back end of the combination, for the triple toe, looked a bit off but appeared to also have merited a positive GOE. Overall, he was pleased that the audience appeared to have been surprised at his milestone accomplishment of his first quad flip in combination and regardless of what Yakov had to say, he was happy with his performance. After all, that's what should really matter, wasn't it?

Yuri watched as the marks were read, and despite Celestino's “what the fuck??” in response Yuri was not surprised at all to find that Victor had edged him to second place by two points, his presentation scores higher than Yuri's. It wasn't uncommon for the more subjective of the two marks to make the difference between placements and while the margin was small, it had been enough.

“Technically you had the more difficult program,” Celestino reassured him. “We'll look at what we can improve on in presentation for the free skate, but honestly I don't see where there was any discrepancy.”

“I can probably up my one spin sequence in the free too,” Yuri offered. “We had that other variation.”

“With the Biellmann? Hm. Let's see how it feels in practice tomorrow,” Celestino said. “Let's not focus on it too hard though. C'mon, let's do the press conference and get out of dodge for now.”

Victor had been caught by the press as soon as he'd come backstage, and was sure if he got asked one more time about how he felt being in front of Yuri after the short “unlike the last time they competed” he was going to snap at someone. Nothing was set in stone until the final skater had finished on the day of the free skate.

The press conference after the short was less formal than that of the free skate, with the three men gathering in front of a photo-op background to take questions from the press. Standing between himself and Katsuki was a first-year Senior skater, a 16-year-old from Kazakhstan named Otabek Altin who had laid down a solid short program to sit in third place in his senior debut. Victor had remembered hearing about him and was suitably impressed. The reporters were interested in the young skater's performance and spoke with him for several minutes before moving on to Katsuki.

“How do you feel about your performance today?” one of them asked him.

“I'm satisfied,” Yuri began. “I had given the officials a very different planned elements list, but I think I maybe underestimated myself going in. I felt very strong today so I did what I felt like I was capable of, and it paid off.”

“Do you think you gained the confidence to do this after taking the gamble at the Olympics?” another asked.

“Definitely. It's not something I'll always have to do, but there is some pretty heavy competition here today. You can't come in and do the minimum when there are others who are going to give their all and more, and will surprise you with what they put down.” Victor tried to keep his eyebrows from raising but felt them do so a little at the subtle deference in Katsuki's words.

“How does it feel to be on top again Victor?” a Russian journalist asked.

“It's only the short program,” Victor replied. “The margin between first and second is very small, and anything can happen. So I will leave nothing to chance in the free.”

“What prompted you to do your signature quad flip in combination? Congratulations on landing it by the way.”

“Thank you,” Victor said with a smile. “When you have formidable competition, you are pushed to do things you maybe never thought of trying before and you take the chances. I like being pushed. It makes things much more interesting.” The last part of his response was punctuated with his trademark wink and smile.

After the press conference ended and the trio posed for photos, Victor made a decision that he knew Yakov wouldn't be happy with, but he knew he'd be less happy with himself if he didn't follow through. As Yuri finished talking with a Japanese reporter Victor stepped up beside him, reaching to touch his shoulder lightly as Katsuki turned to leave. Victor had to smile at the startled blink and flush over the other's face when he'd turned to see who was there.

“Your quad flip is quite spectacular,” Victor said. “That was the first time you'd landed it in competition right?”

Victor noticed Yuri seeming to think a bit before he responded. “Actually... yeah it was. I hadn't really thought about it.”

“I'm surprised no one else noticed,” Victor said. “You looked good today.”

Another flush crossed Katsuki's face. “Thank you,” he said, dipping his head in gratitude. “Congratulations on the quad flip in combo too.”

“Thank you, Yuri,” Victor said, the smile crossing his face genuine; as Katsuki flushed a third time, he added a wink. “Best of luck tomorrow. Just know I won't be easy on you.”

Victor was unsure why he felt a little flutter in his chest when Katsuki broke into a smile at that. “You too. And I expect nothing less.” And with one last bow of his head a very flustered Katsuki turned to join his coach, who was calling him over for an interview with a different Japanese reporter, Hisashi Morooka.

“Come on, we have to get to the draw,” Yakov barked. “Stop making nice with your competition, that's not how it works.”

“So you say,” Victor growled. “We're not robots. I don't hate him, as much as you'd want me to.”

“That's your biggest problem. And some day it's going to cost you. You are the warrior and everyone is your enemy. Remember that,” Yakov snapped.

_The only person I need to wear armor against is you. I refuse to turn cold like you have, like so many of my predecessors have. I'm human, and I will not let you or anyone else turn me to stone._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally got a longer chapter out there as I get more settled into this one. Thank you for reading, commenting and for all the kudos! :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You are trying too hard to be who you were before Sochi. In this world of skating, you are built up to succeed. When you don't, you are made to believe you have failed. You did not fail, Vitya. You only met your match.”

“Gentlemen, you have six minutes for your warmup.”

The final group of men for Rostelecom 2014 spilled onto the ice and settled into their warmup routines, tuning out everything else around them. There was always an electricity in the air at competitions with big names and this time around was no exception. All eyes were focused on Victor Nikiforov, two-time World Champion and Katsuki Yuri, reigning Olympic and World Champion, as they warmed up for their first free-skate faceoff since the Olympics.

Yuri had, despite serious temptation, refrained from reading anything online after the short program. He already knew what would be going around on the various forums and Twitter, but after a sitdown with Celestino, knew none of that mattered. Many of the people who weighed in only knew the surface of skating, didn't understand the nuances in determining GOE and PCS scores. There were only two things that mattered: Being secure and satisfied with his own performance, and what the judges had to say about it via their scores. Yuri was quite aware that he had reached his goal of becoming just as proficient a skater as the silver-haired Russian who was skating on the opposite side of the rink right now. What it would come down to was who skated their program clean and after that, most likely the presentation scores. “Just do your job, then it's out of your hands” Celestino had told him, and Yuri intended to do just that.

Victor, on the other hand, had not been able to refrain from reading at least some of the chatter and buzz about the short program. He knew quite well that some of it was for his own validation, something he'd never needed before the outcome of the Olympics. He didn't like the feeling either, of needing to know that people still believed in him and his abilities. Of course, very many did, and he had the advantage of home ice today. But those few that said that Yuri was the future and that Victor was at the age where he should be on the way out, reducing the quads so his “old” body didn't break down before he could leave the sport gracefully, had cut deeply. Victor knew he had a few good seasons left in him, despite what the numbers on the Jumbotron after each skater said. Katsuki was a formidable competitor, and that was _exciting._ And at the same time intimidating, because he'd seen how skating fans turned on their favorites after one bad performance, one major competitive loss. It was par for the course with many fans, especially those exceptionally passionate ones, and Victor was finding he really needed to relearn how to not let that matter as little as it had before the Olympics.

The draw after the short program the day before had not been kind to either of them, with Yuri skating second-to-last and Victor the final man on the ice. Victor had passively wondered if they'd hid the slip with “6” on it until he'd drawn his. Usually he didn't mind it, but today would entail leaving a major statement. If by some chance he didn't end the event in first place... well, he didn't need to think about that right now.

The men were called off of the ice and the competition began as both Yuri and Victor retreated to their own places in the warmup area. Victor again sat down and undid his boots, while he noticed out of the corner of his eye that Yuri did the same over by the gym mats. As Victor set about stretching to keep warm he couldn't help stealing glances at Yuri, who walked through his program on the mats, earbuds in and eyes closed as Celestino watched from a respectful distance. Even on the floor Katsuki was graceful, the ballet training that Victor guessed he'd done since childhood from the looks of it coming more into play with solid ground under his feet.

Somehow the time passed that much more slowly as Victor kept moving, finding that the judging was taking a bit longer with everyone than normal. Just what he needed, a picky panel; it was judging panels like this that, when the hometown favorite won, caused their win to be scrutinized that much more by those who tore apart such things. Victor certainly wasn't questioning his own abilities, but all things considered, he really hoped they intended to judge him, as well as the other skaters, objectively and fairly.

Victor noticed some activity across the room and looked up to see Katsuki lacing up; a second glance at the monitors showed that Otabek Altin had just finished and the skater after him warming up as they waited for the marks, which meant Yuri was next. This was also Victor's cue to do the same and get settled into his boots; as he sat to do so he kept one eye peering through the fringe of his bangs at Katsuki and Celestino as they walked slowly toward the exit to rinkside. Celestino kept one arm around Yuri's shoulders and seemed to be speaking with him calmly, with Yuri nodding in response. Finally, they stopped and faced each other with Celestino gripping both of Yuri's shoulders and smiling. Knowing how some coaches worked, Victor wasn't surprised that Celestino said his final words to his charge just loud enough to make a statement to anyone close enough to hear.

“Just throw down your best as it is _today._ That's all you can do and all you can give. Remember. Clean ice. We both know what you can do. Give your best, and I'll be good with that. And you should be too.”

Yuri smiled and nodded decisively. “Okay!”

“Go get 'em buddy. You got this.” And with a hearty pat to both of Yuri's shoulders, the pair turned toward the exit as the volunteer called them forward.

Victor had little time to process what he'd just heard when a sharp jab to his shoulder grabbed his attention; as he sat up he found Yakov scowling as usual.

“Just because Katsuki's coach isn't telling him to win doesn't mean you'll beat him easily. You need to do the quad loop as the first jump. With his planned content, he stands a chance of pulling ahead,” Yakov said.

“I'll do it if it feels right. I'm still not sure it's ready,” Victor replied as they walked into the corridor leading to the exit. On the monitors, the previous skater was waiting for his marks, with Katsuki doing warmup laps and single jumps as he waited.

“Let's go to the warmup area,” Yakov said.

“At rinkside?” Victor said with a frown. “You know I never do that.”

“We both should see what he does, so we know what you need to do. Come! Now!” Yakov barked.

“Do you want to see what he does, or do you want to intimidate him?” Victor challenged as he followed reluctantly.

“Whatever works best,” Yakov said as the volunteer pulled the curtain back for the two of them to walk out to the holding area at rinkside, where on the ice Katsuki had just been announced and was gliding into his opening pose.

A bit more than half of Yuri's program was quiet but dynamic music by the legendary Japanese Taiko group Kodo. The beginning was made up of the first 2:20 of a soft, gentle composition entitled [“Biei (Etheral Flow)”](https://open.spotify.com/track/6CztuO5OyKzTLbglbbiIyj?si=LogTZFZeQkKFBWgTSgIt3Q), and within it Victor saw a perfect mix of balletic grace and classic Japanese dance. The music seemed to relax Yuri as he once again closed his eyes for parts of the first 20 seconds of intricate movements, the effect of watching it almost hypnotic to the point that when Yuri landed a pristine quad toe loop with almost no setup it actually startled Victor, and apparently some of the audience as well. Katsuki continued to dance across the ice, and Victor was sure the audience was falling under some sort of spell as Katsuki completed the step sequence and sailed up into an effortless triple lutz/triple toe loop combination. Victor found himself barely pacing around in the holding area, pulled in as much as the rest of the audience by Katsuki's effortless spins, light, clean edges and elegant, held out positions – including a fully-split spiral position that changed edges as it flew across the ice [a la Michelle Kwan](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KM38CM6aaDY), something very few men were able to do.

The crowd was suddenly snapped out of their enchantment however as the second half of the program began, utilizing the last approximate 2:10 of the hard-driving [“Strobe's Nanafushi (Satori Mix)”](https://open.spotify.com/track/3rMzLhsrrme9siclkE3tQQ?si=NF3GFCTwSKqi2fn_VVwOxQ), also by Kodo. After nailing yet another quad flip, Katsuki showed why his forte was definitely his footwork with a lightning fast circular sequence that included stag leaps in between intricate one-footed rockers, three-turns and twizzles. Victor was left to wonder how Yuri didn't spin out of control with the amount of speed the sequence was done. As Yuri finished the step sequence Victor and Yakov both thought his approach to the corner they were at was for a spin sequence or a standalone Lutz jump; instead the entire room erupted in an astonished roar as Katsuki executed something that should have been impossible at 3:00 into a free program: a quad Salchow-double toe loop. Victor was certain it was intended to be a triple on the end, but after the step sequence he could see why Yuri would double it. After a triple Axel – triple toe loop for his final jumping pass Yuri ended the program with a change foot combination spin that finished with a fully-extended Biellman, aka “tulip” spin, showing off Yuri's flexibility.

Yakov had to give Victor yet another sharp jab to the shoulder then as the volunteer opened the door to the ice for him once Yuri had finished his program; it was only then that Victor had realized he'd been applauding just as much as the rest of the audience. As he took to the ice to run his laps, weaving around the “flower kids” picking up the plushies and other gifts thrown onto the ice, Victor was quite certain his work was cut out for him. The wheels turned in his mind then to rearrange his planned program content to accommodate the technical elements needed to compete with the incredible program Katsuki had just thrown down. Where Katsuki got his stamina from was something Victor was going to need to find out. He tried to tune out Yuri's scores by skating over to Yakov and using his coach's usual lecturing to cover it, but the roar of the crowd at Yuri's new personal best, first-place score which was eight points ahead of Otabek Altin's second place was difficult to ignore.

“Do what you know you need to to win,” Yakov said, his monotone delivery punctuated by an almost angry gaze. Victor nodded quietly and turned toward the ice, heading out as his name was called. Taking his position, he waited for the beginning of his program music, [“Ghost Ridden”](https://open.spotify.com/track/6Dsxtbxeh6sZb8XaNHmfCn?si=7mpk3JJpS6uvLhcVh6jwLg), to begin. The program's two pieces, edited to conform to the required 4:20 length of the free, were meant to tell the story of his journey back to skating after the disappointment of the Olympics. The quieter first part afforded him the concentration to attempt a jump he'd never done in competition before... and one he knew he'd need if he stood a chance of making it to the top of the podium in any sort of decisive way.

Yuri sat in the lounge with Otabek and the third-place skater, watching as Victor began his program on the monitor before them. He was fully aware of the television camera trained on them all, watching for his reaction especially. But that same camera got a shot of three skaters who gasped in unison as Victor attempted the quad loop...

_Shake it off. Keep going. Calm down._

The fall had been hard. Victor had felt as he descended that he hadn't hadn't gotten enough height into the jump to complete the rotation, with about a quarter-turn left to go as his blade hit the ice. He heard the familiar scrape, saw the snow out of the corner of his eye, then felt the sharp jolt through his glute as he landed on it. Springing up quickly in a way only years of experience could showcase he caught up to his music with a few powerful strokes, going back into the choreography and refocusing at a breakneck pace so as to not miss the next planned quad. Anger at himself for not listening to his gut and leaving the quad loop out fueled his perfectly-landed quad flip-triple toe loop combination and triple Axel.

The slower part of the program ended and moved into the second piece of music, the aptly-titled [“Rage From Within”](https://open.spotify.com/track/09Wgawp6DROLTWGDvJOyZR?si=6g0Pp_t8Q_irDG1akGAbEw). Victor felt his movements becoming almost too sharp, too angry, and worked hard to reign himself in as he ticked off the elements he had left. As the heavy guitar part of the second piece of music kicked in he sailed along the ice for his intricate straight-line footwork into his next jumping passes. The one advantage to having choreographed his own programs was being able to change things on a moment's notice, and Victor added a few more difficult entry positions and moves to his remaining jumps to up their level of difficulty in an attempt to make up the substantial amount of points he'd lost for the quad loop. As the program neared the end he continued to think on his feet and knew that there was only one thing left he could do to gain more points, risk be damned; as such he threw everyone one last surprise with an attempt at a quad toe loop; to the surprise of everyone, including himself, he landed it with just a slightly wide-swinging free leg before ending with his final flying change foot combination spin.

“I'm not even sure what I just saw,” Otabek said quietly as the three skaters in the “tv lounge” watched Victor take his bows. “He changed a good half of the program on the fly.”

“I've never seen him do anything like that before,” Yuri nodded. “It made the program look a bit disconnected in places. It's so unusual for him to not be solid with everything he does.”

“I think you have him a bit shook up,” Cao Bin, the Chinese skater in third place, said with a smile to Yuri. “But I have to wonder with how picky the judges have been if they will nick him on presentation for being kind of messy.”

Yuri hadn't wanted to use the word “messy”, but inwardly he agreed. It was completely unlike Victor to not look prepared, let alone redo his program on the fly. Yuri began to feel that same nagging worry collecting in his chest as he had in Sochi, and pushed it back as hard as he could. _Missing the quad loop is what rattled him. It's not about you. He probably doesn't care at all about what you did out there._

“What the fuck was that?” Yakov barked as he and Victor sat down in the Kiss and Cry, leaving the television techs scrambling to turn off the microphones hidden in the bouquets of flowers lining the seating area. “You should have stayed with the program as it was set up after you missed the loop! You still would have been fine! You threw so much extra shit in there you looked like you drank a fifth of vodka before you went out there!”

Victor knew full well it hadn't been _that_ bad, but as he watched the replay on the monitor in front of him, he did see how the extra steps he'd added before the jumps made them technically more difficult, but also made the overall package less aesthetically-pleasing. On top of the video confirming what Victor had known about the underrotated quad loop, he felt the heaviness in his gut settling in. If the panel looked the other way on his presentation, it would be ridiculously obvious after how picky they'd been throughout the entire free program event that, if Victor won, his marks had been inflated.

Victor was dead certain he didn't want that and found himself, for the first time in his life, hoping he _didn't_ win.

Celestino had come up behind Yuri in the tv lounge, placing a hand on each of his charge's shoulders as the judging panel took ridiculously long to announce Victor's marks. Yuri was preparing himself for silver – after all, they were in Russia, and that was how things appeared to go sometimes when a country's star skated on home ice – and had decided he was fine with that because he'd be taking silver to Victor's gold. The balance would be somewhat restored and the pressure lifted to maintain the rivalry.

In the Kiss and Cry, Victor had begun to worry slightly with as long as the marks were taking; when one had several cameras in your face waiting to see your reaction to your win or loss, it was extremely unsettling. He prepared for the backlash he'd likely get if he was awarded gold while deciding that he would also be perfectly fine with silver. He'd been sloppy and fallen on his ass. It was only fair.

Far away in Detroit, Phichit and several of Yuri's Detroit rinkmates watched on Phichit's laptop during a break in their own practice as the cameras went to a split screen of Victor in the Kiss and Cry and Yuri backstage as the marks took forever to come up. They all held their breath in unison as Victor was announced as second place for the free skate segment, and then second overall, with Yuri in first and Otabek in third. Phichit had been recording on his phone and continued to do so as he squealed and jumped up and down in his guarded blades along with the raucous cheering of the other Detroit skaters, then saving the video for Yuri to see upon returning home.

“Yeahhhh buddy you did it!” Celestino cried as the marks were announced, and Yuri couldn't help but grin. It was a relief to continue his gold streak, proving once again that the off-season had not killed his momentum even while that knot of anxiety once again formed in the pit of his stomach just as it had after the win in Sochi.

Victor rose as the venue was filled with whistles (the skating fans' way of showing disapproval with the marks) as well as actual boos in response to the results, prompting him to look directly into the cameras with a smile and wink. “It's okay. Don't be like that. It's fine,” he said loudly over the noise. He then bent to gather the few gifts he'd picked up on the way off the ice and headed backstage, handing them off to a volunteer as the media swarmed him for sound bites.

“Victor! How do you feel about these results, do you agree with them?” one reporter asked.

“Actually yes I do. I tried to change the program too much after I fell on the loop and it didn't go so well. The loop wasn't ready yet and I should have known that. It was definitely a bad call to try to put it in.”

“This is the second time you've lost to Katsuki, do you think he's unbeatable?”

“No one is unbeatable,” Victor said. “I didn't skate my program to my full potential, and he did. The person who does that wins. It's that simple. Now if you'll all excuse me I have to get ready for the medal ceremony.”

Victor walked quickly back into the locker room area then, finding his tolerance for the media quite low at the moment. He came in to find Otabek in front of one of the full-length mirrors touching up his hair a bit and paused to congratulate him; as he continued on he found Yuri at a different mirror on the opposite end of the room finishing up a conversation with his Japanese teammate who had come in sixth.

Yuri saw Victor approaching in the reflection just above his shoulder and felt the knot of anxiety clench tighter in his stomach. _Oh god, what do I say to him now... “sorry I beat you on home ice again?”_

“Congratulations, Yuri. That program is absolutely gorgeous,” Victor said with a smile, his tone completely sincere. He saw Katsuki draw in a breath before he turned to face him, first addressing him with a bow of his head.

“Thank you,” Yuri said, his voice a bit softer and sounding more small than he really wanted it to. “You looked good too...” _Oh god shut up, don't make a fool of yourself._

Victor smiled again, the new knowledge he'd gained about the Japanese skater helping him to recognize Yuri's short, tense responses for what they were: The poor thing was likely mortified that he'd once again bested Victor in his own country.

“I was sloppy. I tried too hard, which is the first thing you're not supposed to do. I should know better, especially against the Olympic Champion. Next time I will,” Victor smiled, adding his trademark wink with one difference: This time it was intentional, to try and help Katsuki relax. When Yuri's face flushed more, Victor decided out of nowhere to go for broke. “By the way, your costume is stunning... I love the interesting take on the yukata. And I do love cherry blossoms. They'll look lovely with that gold medal.”

Yuri's head was spinning so much he didn't realize that Victor had extended a hand as he finished speaking to shake until after he blinked and came to his senses a bit. He reached for it and shook it back loosely. “Thanks... spasiba...” _Don't talk, you'll just say something stupid._ “It... it is an honor to skate on the same ice with you.” _Why did you just say that omg_

There was that flutter in Victor's chest again, a bit stronger this time as he released Yuri's hand. As he stepped back to take his leave, he smiled once more and inclined his head in a respectful bow of his own.

“The feeling is mutual, Yuri. See you out on the podium.”

Yuri stood watching in shock after Victor left for so long, he was nearly late for his own gold medal ceremony.

  


  


The exhibitions the next day had been hectic, with those in the first to fourth positions plus any other Russian skaters entered in the event performing just a couple of hours before the banquet that closed the festivities. Katsuki had kept to himself backstage, and Victor was continually pulled away to talk to someone or other every time he thought he had an opening to attempt to connect with Yuri again. At the end of the gala Victor finally gave up on trying to catch up with Katsuki when the backstage area became filled with the hustle of skaters trying to pack up and get back to their hotel to get ready for the banquet. Instead, he decided he'd try to talk more with Yuri after the dinner, when everyone began to socialize.

But that plan backfired pretty quickly when Victor found that Yakov had arranged for representatives of all of Victor's Russian sponsors to attend the banquet, along with three more who weren't sponsoring him yet that wanted to. Banquets were supposed to be the time when the skaters relaxed a bit after the stress of the competition, but Victor found himself putting on his best face and winning smile (or would it be second-place smile?) for the endless stream of businessmen that chatted him up. Knowing the importance of keeping the sponsorships and attracting new ones – after all, even as the Russian Federation's star, there was only so much in funds they could provide without seeming preferential – Victor cooperated, only able to steal quick glances over to the Team Japan table. Each time he looked over he saw Katsuki still sitting, his teammates and their coaches for the most part sticking together. Yuri wouldn't have sponsorship meetings here, and Victor envied his freedom even while wondering why Katsuki didn't get up and mingle with everyone else once the majority of people at his table did so.

It was quite late into the evening once the sponsors had all had their face time with Victor that he finally found himself free to catch up with the skaters he knew. Some had already taken their leave, with early morning flights or even flights to catch that night. As he made his way over to the Team Japan table, Victor found only two coaches and one of the ladies' skaters that had just returned to sit down, appearing to be gathering her things to leave. They all smiled cordially, offering polite bows of their heads in greeting.

“Hello... I was wondering if Katsuki Yuri was still here,” Victor asked with a smile of his own; he noticed the ladies' skater already shaking her head with a sympathetic expression in response.

“No, he already went to the hotel,” she said. “He is flying to Japan very early tomorrow.”

“Oh,” Victor said, taken aback slightly. “I know there is a week between this and NHK, I didn't think he'd go there already.”

“He has sponsorship commitments,” she replied. “He's been very busy since the Olympics, so he will do them before the competition.”

“I see,” Victor replied, trying not to sound _too_ disappointed when in reality, he actually was. “Well, thank you, and have a safe flight home,” he smiled once more then took his leave. Finding that several of the other skaters were already gone and the general crowd thinning out Victor decided to do the same, grabbing his coat from the back of his chair at the Russian Federation table and going out to catch the shuttle bus back to the hotel. Once he got to his room he sat down on the bed with a heavy sigh.

Why was Katsuki so elusive? Was it just how he always was, or was it because of Victor? Did he really admire him that much? Did he somehow think that Victor hated him? Well... if he did, it would be Victor's own fault, he realized. After all, he hadn't made the best impression at the Olympics. Maybe he should have told Katsuki in the locker room that he'd wanted to catch up with him at the banquet, maybe he'd have stayed...

Victor stopped himself then. Why did it matter so much, getting through to Katsuki? Why did Victor want, _need_ to let Yuri know that he actually understood what he was going through and didn't find him at fault? That Victor's Olympic disappointment was long gone and he was now starting to see things differently? Why did he just want to... somehow let Katsuki know he...

... _cared?_

Victor blinked at the realization. He'd never felt this much... sympathy? Empathy? He wasn't sure he had the right words in his head about what he was feeling, all he knew was that he'd never felt this concerned, this worried, about anyone before, especially someone who had beaten him twice now. He'd grown up seeing all skaters as his enemies, a good amount of the time putting on a plastic smile and being cordial; sometimes it was genuine, sometimes it wasn't, but his intent was to always be the bigger person.

But somehow, since Yuri had won the Olympics, he'd poked a hole in Victor's facade. He was coming to realize that he'd worn the mask so long it had become part of him. Now that this one gentle soul, one who had the support that Victor was now realizing he hadn't had as much as he'd thought, had shown him how things could be different, suddenly Victor wanted that same soul to know he wasn't the cold, hard Russian the world thought he was.

_I don't want him to be afraid of me. I want him to know who I am beneath it all._

Victor looked at his reflection in the dresser mirror across from the bed, and found that realization scared the hell out of him. He'd never wanted to let anyone in before.

_You can't compete against a person if you start having feelings for them. There's no place for that in skating._ He'd heard the words over and over again, mostly from Yakov, whenever Victor had wanted to attempt to have some kind of life in the outside world beyond the rink, with either a skater or a regular person.

He buried his face in his hands, exhaling with a frustrated groan. He was exhausted and probably thinking too much. Checkout time was late morning, he should probably sleep. Once he'd changed and climbed into bed he finally took a look at his phone and found a few texts from Chris.

**Chris:** Congratulations, darling. Pretty gutsy to try the quad loop. 👏🏻

**Chris:** Don't think I didn't see you checking out Katsuki's bum on the podium. And don't lie and say you weren't either.

**Chris:** Sooooooo did you talk to him? You know you have to give me all the details darling.

**Chris:** Alright, I suppose you're too tired to chat now. Text me when you get home, cheri, and I'll FaceTime with you. You're not getting away with telling me nothing at all! 😘

Victor put his phone on Do Not Disturb and set it on the nightstand with a sigh. Chris was the only person that he couldn't hide from, no matter how hard he'd tried over the years. He was quite happy that his best friend would be at NHK and smiled at the thought as he began to doze. Chris had always been the foil for his recklessness (not to mention his partner in crime), and with how Victor's mind was bouncing around with thoughts he'd never allowed himself to have before, he was going to need backup.

Or, Victor realized with a slight edge of panic, maybe some advice about how to handle what just might be, at the age of nearly 26, his first bona fide crush...

  


  


It had been three years and some change since his blades had touched this ice, since he'd breathed in the same scents, soaked in the early-morning sun filtering through the tall windows that afforded no real heat even in the middle of summer. It was always extra cold with a liberal helping of damp chill that caused the need for at least three layers of clothing minimum until he warmed up for the day, because somehow the happy medium was never quite reached.

And yet, despite all its imperfections and the things it lacked, Ice Castle would never not be home.

The rink in Detroit didn't really have windows to the outside and Yuri realized he missed it, even though there were days that not being aware of the angle of the sun's rays through the tall panes of glass as they stretched across the ice helped the hours to go by faster. It was also never this quiet. Only the hum of the cooling system beneath the floor and the periodic rattle of the heater that puffed lukewarm blasts into the air – enough to keep it hospitable for properly-dressed humans but not warm enough to melt the ice – were the only interruptions to his concentration as he skidded to a stop in the middle of the rink and began tracing out compulsory figures, his favorite way to get a literal grip of the ice surface, and the best way he'd found to clear his head.

He'd been back home that past summer, but every time he came back to Hasetsu felt like a reset for his brain. He'd been so busy the first couple of years in Detroit that between competition assignments that didn't take him back to Japan and working hard on his studies before he'd opted to suspend them indefinitely, he hadn't made it home before his win at the Olympics. The two weeks he'd had to reconnect with family and his toy poodle, Victor (who, in a bit of irony, was named for his favorite skater) hadn't felt like enough, but it had been enough for Yuri to realize that he needed to make time for it even if it was just in the off-season. It wasn't that he was losing touch with his roots; he'd just adapted so well that within that, he'd realized how much he'd been coddled at home.

He watched his blade trace a loop figure in the ice as he mused over that realization a bit more. His parents had indulged his passion for skating though they both emphasized getting an education, sometimes being at odds with Yuri's coach over missing school for a competition or his morning training not allowing him to sleep enough. His sister Mari had always supported him, from walking him to training, to eventually driving him, and then, when he moved away, care packages and the periodic check that amounted to at least one week of her pay from the family's onsen for “fun money”. She'd even come to Sochi with his ballet instructor and choreographer Minako. It all meant the world to him, to be sure, but he was also happy he'd been able to compromise with his parents to leave home; they'd support his decision to make the big move as long as he went to school.

He knew now, though, that he wouldn't be the person he'd become, was still in the process of becoming, without having taken the leap. As much as he'd loved his family and respected his former coach, it had been Celestino that had been willing to face Yuri's lifelong anxiety head-on. Sure, it was always there, but he'd learned to cope with it through the help Celestino had pointed him to, as well as Ciao Ciao's endless optimism and encouragement. Yuri wasn't perfect, nor was he cured – but he'd learned how to be strong and independent when it mattered, and even if he didn't get it totally right, it was a good amount of the battle at the very least.

“Nice edges. Can't even hear the blades on the ice.”

Yuri looked up at the voice, his face brightening into a grin at the sight of his childhood friend, Takeshi. The pair had a rocky start as children, with Takeshi actually bullying the much smaller Yuri at the beginning of their skating lessons together. But Yuri's other best childhood friend, Yuko – who had ended up marrying Takeshi – had set him right and the trio had been inseparable until Yuri proved to be the only one of the three to continue skating past Juniors.

“Hey!” Yuri smiled as he glided over, reaching over the boards for a one-armed hug. “How's it going? Have the little ones worn you out yet?

“Oh my god, three toddlers at once. I love them but... yeah, I come to work at the rink to relax!” Takeshi laughed even as he pulled out his phone to show Yuri photos of the four-year-old triplets. “Yuko's been teaching them basics though, they've got the same little double-blade skates we used back in the day. She just started with them in the beginning of the new season.”

“Oh god that must be nuts,” Yuri laughed. “I hope I get a chance to see them.”

“We'll bring them by one evening while you're here, when you're done training for the day. Speaking of, your coach isn't around yet?”

“I always get to the rink ahead of him to warm up. You know how I am,” Yuri said. “I might not have the run of things like I do here, but the rink is always open early for the kids that skate before school. So Phichit and I warm up then. It all works out.”

“How are you doing with all this rivalry BS?” Takeshi asked as Yuri stepped off the ice, accepting the matcha latte Takeshi had brought for him as they sat on one of the benches behind the boards.

“It's been... a challenge,” Yuri said. “It still feels so surreal. I went from being a Victor otaku, never thinking I'd ever be on his level and now... well, this past week... he kept trying to talk to me.”

“Well that's great though!” Takeshi said. “Better to be on good terms you know?”

“Either that, or he's keeping his enemies close,” Yuri said, pausing to sip his drink. “I've always read how there seems to be two sides to him. Sometimes he's cool with you and sometimes... not. So I'm not sure what he's about you know? And then with what happened in the long program this past weekend...”

“He seemed pretty rattled, which was so weird,” Takeshi said. “Once you skated and threw down the gauntlet, it was like he didn't know what to do, so he threw a bunch of stuff in to see what would work. I guess that's what happens when you go two and a half seasons undefeated.”

“That's the thing though, he seemed pretty chill about it. He talked to me a little after the long program and said he knew he was sloppy. He said he knew he couldn't be against the Olympic Champion, and that he'd do better next time.”

“Sounds like he's gonna come out swinging at NHK,” Takeshi said.

“I don't know what will happen if I don't win there,” Yuri said with a slightly nervous tone.

“Are you kidding? Even when you weren't hitting everything out of the park, Japan had your back. They won't give up on you, and the fans here know you're human. And you're gonna have Chris _and_ Victor there, plus that new 16 year old jumping bean from Canada...”

“JJ? Yeah, he trains at our rink, at least right now,” Yuri said. “Celestino took him on at the beginning of the season, but _man_ is he a hardhead. Always wants to do stuff his way, so that's why he's not super consistent yet. He's trying to be a showoff in his first senior season and is quite the handful. His mom is always at the rink too and that's... fun. But yeah, Phichit's gonna be there at NHK too so Ciao Ciao's gonna be running around like a crazy person.”

“He's starting to pick up more students now eh?” Takeshi smirked.

“Yeah, he's gotten more inquiries. He keeps reassuring Phichit and I that we're his main priority though, and we are. He thrives on it to be honest, he likes the challenge of working with different students. He's got help too, Phichit's coach from Thailand came with him and now she steps up when needed. Ciao Ciao's a strong person and I still feel like I've got so much to learn from him.”

“Sounds like you're happy. It's good to see you so much more sure of yourself.”

Yuri smiled softly as he nodded in agreement. “It feels good. I don't think I'd have grown like this if I'd stayed in Japan. It was rough at first but... I think I made the right choice.”

“Well I think that Olympic gold medal can vouch for that!” Takeshi grinned; he looked up at the squeak of the rink doors opening to produce Celestino and Minako.

“Choreo touchups today,” Yuri said. “Gotta get to work. Thanks for the latte, I needed it.”

“No problem, I got your back, you know that. And so does Yuko. She'll be here later when the skate shop opens. I'll catch up with you then.”

“If you want to hang with me for off-ice, I could use a few new tips,” Yuri smiled as he took off his blade guards.

“You got it,” Takeshi smiled as he made his way toward the exit. “Smell ya later, brat!”

“Kiss it, dumbass!” Yuri shot back, causing Takeshi and Minako to break into laughter as Takeshi took his leave, and Celestino smirking as he had only heard some Japanese and the English word “dumbass” from Yuri.

“I take it you two are best buddies,” Ciao Ciao laughed as Yuri skated up to the boards.

“We go way back,” he nodded with a grin.

“Speaking of, I've been talking with Minako here, and I think we have a few ideas to change up the long program a bit. I think that last section where you went from the step sequence to the quad Sal combo might be a bit too tough. It's hard enough to manage that as it is, and the farther along we get in the season it might get harder to land.”

“I had that thought. I had to double the triple toe on the end because I was too winded to land it. I do think that section could use a bit of tweaking,” Yuri agreed.

“Alright, sounds like a plan. We'll map out a couple different layouts while you work on the rest of your warmup, and we'll get started right away.”

“I've got some tips for the choreo as a whole too,” Minako noted. “We'll play with it on the ice, but I want to work on it off-ice too.”

“Don't worry, I'm here for nine days!” Yuri laughed. “I can come to the studio if you want, but I'm working with Takeshi on off-ice today, so it will have to be after practice tomorrow.”

“She's all business,” Ciao Ciao laughed. “I had to slow her roll a bit too.”

“It's okay, it's how she tells me she missed me,” Yuri winked, smirking at the flush over Minako's face and Celestino's resulting laugh as he headed to center ice to start his day.

  


  


It was always a given that one shouldn't skate alone. It had been drilled into Victor's head since he was a child, from his earliest days at Yuebileyny's rink. But as he'd risen to prominence as the rink's biggest star he'd been awarded his own set of keys to the doors, and had utilized them infrequently – at least, until recently. Now, these extremely early mornings, with only the maintenance and food vending people around, had become the only time Victor enjoyed being at his second home. He was smart enough to not try any jumps while he was alone; it was the one condition he'd agreed to when Yakov had found him skating without any spotters one morning when he'd come in early to do paperwork and had admonished him accordingly. But the solitude was still what he needed most to focus and get into a decent headspace for the day.

Ever since the Olympics and the turmoil of the off-season, the atmosphere at the rink had been different. Yakov focused more on the two skaters who were up and coming stars, Mila and Yura, trusting Victor to “know what you need to do” and only giving real input after his program runthroughs, of which there were 2-3 of each per day. Georgi shared most of Victor's ice time, and an unspoken competition had started between them. Born just a day apart but never having met until Victor had come to the rink, Georgi had, as they'd gotten older, sometimes expressed his frustration with being in Victor's shadow. Now it seemed Georgi was gunning to be the new most consistent skater for Russia, riding high off of his gold at Skate Canada and currently a favorite for gold at Trophée Eric Bompard in France. That event which was presently taking place in the week between Rostelecom and NHK had, mercifully, left Victor without the presence of Yakov or Georgi in the leadup to the competition in Japan and under the supervision of one of Yakov's assistant coaches for the next few days.

Victor ran through his long program without music, marking out his jumps while enjoying the quiet “shhhh” of his blades over the ice. The best edges in skating rendered almost no sound, especially on fresh ice, and Victor had prided himself over his skill on them – that is, until he had watched Katsuki's footwork sequence. Upon getting home from Rostelecom Victor had read more about Yuri, more specifically, Celestino's training regimen. In doing so he'd found out that Yuri had been schooled in compulsory figures by the coach he'd had from childhood through Juniors. Celestino, who was old enough to have had to do them in competition, encouraged Yuri's continued usage of them and Yuri practiced them every day.

Within that, Victor had found his answer to how Yuri had so much control on the ice. Though they were the basics of figure skating and the reason the sport was named as such, compulsory figures, sometimes known as “school figures”, had been discontinued as part of competition in 1990, leaving most coaches to eventually drop teaching them to their students. Yakov had always made it a point to teach his skaters how to do them, as he'd had to learn them in his own skating career and do them in competition. But as more coaches discarded them completely Yakov had done so as well, opting to focus more on jumps as the scoring systems were overhauled just as Victor had moved up into Juniors.

And so, for the last several days between his two Grand Prix assignments before everyone else came in for the day, Victor had been digging into his memory and working on compulsory figures. It had been so long since he'd done them he actually had to pull up YouTube videos and find diagrams of them online to remember them. But as soon as he'd started running through them, carrying his phone around the ice and watching the videos as he traced the patterns, it all started coming back. Just two days in he no longer needed the videos and was practicing patterns on the ice, then using what he was gleaning from them to integrate into the footwork sequences from his programs. He hadn't realized how much he'd let these fundamentals go by the wayside in favor of quads, and though a week's worth of refreshing his memory and body likely wouldn't do a whole lot, he hoped awakening the muscle memory of leaning into deeper edges would lead to improvement in other ways as the season went on. He'd been told for two and a half years, when no one could beat him, that he was the best there was, and it had led to him becoming complacent. He now had come to realize that there was still a whole lot he could continue to learn.

“Vitya. What are you doing here so early?”

The woman's voice startled him out of his concentration and he bobbled to a stop near center ice, gathering his bearings and looking around for the source.

“Hello Lilia. Just enjoying some peace and quiet before the day starts.”

“You have not done figures since you were quite young. Why start again now?” the stern Russian woman, her hair pulled back into a severe bun, questioned as Victor glided over to where she stood at the boards.

“I'm just looking for things to improve, I suppose,” Victor said.

“You sound tired,” she replied, her voice softening a bit.

The corners of Victor's mouth curled into a wry smile at that. “Aww, Lilia, are you worried about me?”

“Someone has to,” she replied, not unkindly, a tone that Victor did not miss. It wasn't one she used very often.

“Well I appreciate it,” Victor continued, “But I--”

“Do you remember what I told you when you passed your Senior Test?”

Victor stopped, the mildly sarcastic reply he'd attempted to voice fading in his throat. “I do,” he answered instead.

“Recite it.”

It took Victor a moment of reaching back into his memory once again before he could form his reply. “People who can be 'reborn' as many times as necessary are the strong ones.”

“You are trying too hard to be who you were before Sochi,” Lilia affirmed. “In this world of skating, you are built up to succeed. When you don't, you are made to believe you have failed. You did not fail, Vitya. You only met your match.”

Several moments of silence passed between them; it was only when Victor's head dropped in a vain attempt to blink back the tears that had rushed up that Lilia reached out to lay a hand on his shoulder, another action that was nearly foreign to Victor when it came to his former ballet instructor and choreographer – not to mention the ex-wife of his coach.

“Yakov has been too hard on you. I will talk to him,” she said. “All that has happened is that you have learned what it means not to fail, but instead what it means to need to fight. You are doing the right thing by finding new things to learn, and to grow.”

“I remember when you were just as hard on me, Lilia Baranovskaya,” Victor reminded her with a soft smile.

“You are grown now. Yelling at you won't work anymore,” she smirked back, her eyes still intense but with a bit of an almost playfully-challenging glint. “I am here to work with the Juniors today. I'll come back this afternoon and we'll look at your choreography, and see what we can fix.” She looked at her watch then and Victor nodded in understanding as she stepped back to leave. He was about to turn toward center ice again when she called to him once more.

“Vitya. You can still be reborn. I believe you will find the way to reinvent yourself. You will win again, when you remember that it is not the most important thing. It is what you leave behind when the last curtain falls that will be remembered above all else.”

Victor met eyes with Lilia once more; nodding quietly, he replied with words he hadn't spoken in several years.

“I understand, Ms. Baranovskaya.”

She returned his nod with one of her own, then turned to take her leave through the glass doors of the rink.

And for the first time in the nine months since the Olympics, Victor finally found his heart a bit less heavy, and just a bit more hopeful.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading, and for your comments and kudos. :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nothing gets one's head on straight better than hanging out with their best friend, and both Victor and Yuri are fortunate to have theirs at the same competition. Or, possibly, maybe it _isn't_ a good idea in some situations...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter I mention the Japanese figure skating magazine Figure Skating Life. I wasn't able to find a clear answer as to whether or not it had begun being published at the time frame this takes place in which is November 2014. It seems to have some back issues from early 2015 though, so we'll just pretend it was actually there the whole time. 😉

Victor had just settled into his hotel room in Osaka after the extremely long flight from St. Petersburg. Intent on staying in his room as much as possible after finding himself recognized quite a bit between the airport and hotel, he'd just sat down with his lunch and had begun scrolling Twitter to check out the chatter about the NHK Trophy event when he stumbled upon something very much of interest.

**@KingKatsuki @ NHK 2014 GANBA YURI!**

Hello everyone! I did a translation of the interview with Celestino that's in the new issue of the Japanese skating magazine Figure Skate Life. It's on my Tumblr here: Celestino Cialdini Interview Figure Skate Life tmblr.co/AuGHlx2cwr-Ud7

_**Celestino Cialdini Interview Figure Skate Life Magazine Japan** _

_**Okay, my Japanese is pretty decent but if I have made any mistakes in this please let me know!!** _

_Most people know Celestino Cialdini as the coach of Japan's ace figure skater and the reigning Olympic and World Champion, Katsuki Yuri. But Cialdini's skating career was quite impressive on its own. He was a three-time World Champion and two-time Olympic silver medalist (though many thought he should have won gold in Lillehammer in 1994). He was always penalized by the judges for his unusual, “rock and roll” style of skating that emphasized athletics and jumps over artistry, and now with the direction that skating has taken since it seems he was ahead of the times. He was one of the “quad squad” in his prime, one of the first men to land it in competition, and his name is in many skating history books. We sat down with him to get insight on how his skating career affects his new career as a coach, and how he has helped Katsuki Yuri go from a “dime a dozen JSF skater” to Olympic Champion._

Victor skimmed the first part of the interview that detailed much of Celestino's competitive career, things he'd already learned from reading articles at other sources. Finally, the third page in, the interview became much more interesting.

_**Tell us how you became Katsuki Yuri's coach.** _

_I had just put out the word that I was taking new students because I lost all three of my major Seniors after the 2010 Olympics to retirement. I had kind of seen that coming but I waited until they all told me officially to announce it, which in turn caused me to end up with a season off while they took advantage of show tours. Not even a full week after the announcement Yuri called me and said that he and his coach had come to a mutual decision that Yuri needed to move on to someone who had more experience with Senior level skaters. I asked him if he could get to Detroit to do a tryout skate and he said yes._

_The day he came into the rink, I at first didn't know how to handle it. He was very shy, very quiet. His English was pretty good; he had made sure to work on it because of traveling to skate in Juniors. I had not watched any of his skating because I wanted my own first impressions. A skater's work in the past doesn't necessarily define them and I wanted to see him with fresh eyes. He seemed so reserved and quiet though I honestly didn't know what kind of a rapport we'd have._

_**What were your feelings when you saw him skate for the first time?** _

_He got on the ice and did an exhibition program he'd been using for a tour in Japan. It was like he was made of music. Fantastic footwork, brilliant, fast spins. He had gorgeous deep edges and his blades barely made a sound on the ice, which meant he'd studied figures. But right away I saw several things in his jump technique that were holding him back. He had said to me, “I need to work more on my jumps, I have had trouble since I hit a growth spurt last year”. I knew right away that the problem was he was still trying to jump like he did with his Junior body. I then understood why his coach had told him he had to find a “Senior coach”. The one jump he nailed consistently though was the triple Axel, and he told me that was his favorite. The quad toe loop was also pretty good, but as you went up the jump scale, he had more trouble even with just triples. The Salchow was his second-best triple jump though._

_**When did you know that you wanted to be his coach?** _

_What got me on board with coaching him was when I told him a couple of tips, things that I would do to begin fixing his jump technique. He listened to me, then went out in the middle of the ice and tried what I told him. Immediately it looked better and three tries in, he landed his triple loop, which he said he had totally lost. It was a wobbly landing, but he did it successfully for the first time in a few months. He came over to me and said “oh my god that worked, are you magic?” That's when I knew I had someone special in front of me. I knew I would regret it forever if I didn't unlock this massive amount of potential that hadn't been tapped into._

_**Did you ever think he would become the Olympic Champion?** _

_Not at first. I just wanted him to grow, skate to fit his adult body, get some muscle on that skinny body of his because he wasn't doing a lot of off-ice. He was lanky and wiry because he'd sprouted and never really built up the muscle he needed. We started getting good results by his second season, and when he started landing quads more consistently, I knew it was game on. But something just seriously clicked about halfway through the 2013-14 season. Everything we had worked on just really started locking into place. It takes a good two to three seasons sometimes when you're changing jump techniques for things to get committed to muscle memory. His flutz was the toughest because I was calling it the ghost flutz. It only showed up in competition, like a lot of other things regarding his skating._

_**What do you mean by that?** _

_One thing I noticed almost immediately was that Yuri had a serious issue with anxiety, both on and off the ice. It was made worse by competing. He said they'd never really addressed it; he was always just told to get out there and do his best and he would learn to be confident that way. But that doesn't always work. We have a sports psychologist that the rink is affiliated with. Halfway through our first season together I got him in there. It took about a year for that to kick in. I'm a super positive person now, because of my own skating career ending the way it did. I went through a lot of shit after my injury in Nagano. I knew what he was going through, and it didn't take me long at all to see that just being positive and supportive of him wasn't going to cut it. He needed that professional help to dig around and find out what his issues were._

_**And what did they find?** _

_He had the confidence that he could do it, he knew he was good at skating, even potentially exceptional at it. But because of the issues with the growth spurt never being addressed, he lost all his confidence. Add to that the pressure of not wanting to let people down, constantly worrying about doing well, and having a pretty good record in Juniors that he was having difficulty continuing as a Senior. He'd talk on the phone with his family after a competition and they'd be like, “we had a viewing party and everyone came to watch you, but you didn't do very well.” That would fuck him up more. We had to get him to a point that he skated for himself. To believe that his best is good enough, no matter what it is on that day. The thing about anxiety is that even when you know all this shit, your brain says “nope, you still suck because of that one time that one thing happened and x person said this to you about it and you'll never overcome that”. So I pump him up before competitions, remind him of what he's learned and what he knows is true, anxiety be damned._

_**You have been called Yuri's biggest cheerleader. Is that why?** _

_Yes. That's why I sound like I'm doing motivational speeches all the time. I see people in the backstage area looking at me with those side-eyes and smirks when I'm talking to Yuri, but whatever. That's what he needs. Unconditional support, reminders that he's a damn good skater and that he's capable of great things, and that I know and believe that and he should too, and anyone within earshot should know it as well. Mostly after the growth spurt, but also to a lesser extent in Juniors, he was known forever as the kid who would put down one great program, then bomb in the other. That was because it got said so much it weaseled its way into his brain, and the anxiety wouldn't let him drop it. Between the sports psych and me, we had to smash that shit down._

_**So he is cured now of these problems?** _

_No, that's not how it works. You can't cure that, you just have to learn to live and work with it. He still has down days. Some days the ice just isn't kind, your feet don't want to connect to your brain. He'll get down on himself. I'll tell him, “take tomorrow off, kick back with your video games, don't think about the rink.” I'll send a pizza to his apartment and tell him to pig out. Most of the time, he'll come back the next day and knock off 10 quads like nothing happened. Our biggest rule is the anxiety is loud, so we have to be louder. And if we can't work through it, if he turns out to be having an exceptionally rough patch, he goes in for an extra session with the sports psychologist to figure out what the problem is. We don't sit on it and hope it goes away, because he knows now that it won't._

_**Was it difficult for him at the Olympics? Was he afraid or worried about how he would perform there?** _

_The best thing about the Olympics is that we had just decided he'd do his best, and we'd be happy with that. He was in top form, he'd have another chance to do more, maybe even two more Olympics to go. I told him to just go out there and have fun and soak in the experience, enjoy it because you only get one first time at an Olympic Games. Don't worry about making Japan proud or your family proud. Do it for yourself. Go out there and say “I'm gonna have the best skate of my friggin life on Olympic ice and no one is gonna stop me”. So that's what he did. That it was good enough to win was the cherry on top._

_**His confidence has definitely been much better since then. I have done an interview each season with him since Juniors. When I talked to him on the Fantasy on Ice tour, it was like talking to a different Yuri.** _

_He learned in Sochi that he's capable of amazing things. And if it doesn't work out on that day, it's not the end of the world. I'll still be proud of him because I know how much work he puts into it. Other people don't always get that, even your family. All they see is that you either won or lost. You have to, at the end of the day, learn to be proud of yourself and what you've achieved._

_**Where did that philosophy come from? How did you decide to use that as the basis of your coaching style?** _

_I learned that the hard way. It took me three years of psychotherapy to get over what happened in Nagano, on top of the physical therapy and healing. All I could focus on was that my career was over, and I had never gotten a gold medal at the Olympics. The first time I got silver in Lillehammer in '94 came down to me tripling my quad toe, because it wasn't consistent back then. That wasn't so bad, because I knew I'd get better and I had another chance. But I had injured my adductor muscle in my landing leg just before we went to Nagano. That's your groin, the muscle you use for edge jump takeoffs like the loop and the Salchow. I kept pushing through, kept getting doping-approved cortisone shots._

_**Did no one try to stop you from skating?** _

_The team doctor was concerned and told me I should withdraw when it got tweaked more after the short program, but I needed to win that damn gold for the States. My coach was, in retrospect, more concerned about the fact that I was the only contender for the gold from the US of the three men they'd sent, and really didn't discourage me as he should have. I had a whole country counting on me, I had been the favorite since the 1994 Olympics ended to take it in Nagano, especially since so many people said I should have had it in Lillehammer. It was like a cement block on my back and I let it consume me in the most negative way possible. So I forced myself to skate with a very serious injury to not let everyone who supported me down, and I tore that muscle so badly it ended my career. I skated on pure adrenaline. I didn't feel anything till I hit my ending pose, and then the mask came off. I collapsed on the ice because my leg wouldn't hold me up anymore, and had to get my medal in a wheelchair, doped up on pain meds because I was so worried about representing the good ol' stars and stripes._

_**What happened after you returned home to the United States?** _

_The pivotal moment in our sport that is supposed to be the greatest experience in your career was a disaster for me. I went into a three-year funk after I realized I sacrificed everything because other people wanted me to. I'd lost why I was skating, why I wanted to win, and now I would never have another chance. All the press talked about was how the USA came so close to getting that gold but didn't because of me. I had to get right with myself, realize that even though I did it for the wrong reasons, I did the best I could. But I also had learned how important it was to take advice, to slow down, to not get caught up in it all, to not believe your own hype and most importantly, not to sell your soul for the ice._

_**And how does that experience inform the way you coach your students?** _

_It's why I go so hard with the positivity, especially now that Yuri has won the Olympic gold. I don't ever want him to feel like he has to do anything with his career or his body that isn't for himself. And I want him to always remember that he has that support, no matter what step of the podium he's on, or if he's even on it at all. I want him to remember he has every right to say, “I can't do this, I don't want to hurt myself” or “I'm too sick to skate”. He has to put himself first and I won't accept anything less than that. At the end of the day, as long as he's given it everything, or been honest and said “I can't do this” if something is wrong, I will be happy with that, and I'll never give up on him and never give up on letting him know that I've always got his back._

_**What do you feel is your biggest contribution to the sport of figure skating?** _

_A lot of the time when I get asked this, people think I'm going to say that it's being one of the first men to land quads. But quite honestly, even though I didn't have a lot of big time winning students before Yuri, I feel I've given a lot more to the sport as a coach. I became a coach **because** I recognized all the mistakes I made in my own career, and I never, ever want my students to make those same mistakes. Yuri's results so far have shown me that everything I went through was, in the end, for a reason. Call me a cheerleader, call me obnoxious, call me a papa bear, call me whatever you want, but my students know if they're going through something, they can come to me and I'll have their back. My goal was and is to be the coach I wished I could have had, for Yuri and all my students. I'm going to teach them to respect themselves, stand up for themselves, and always, always put themselves first, be it mentally or physically or both, even before the sport itself. That they're human beings, not machines that are just there to crank out medals. They deserve nothing less._

“What is it, cheri??”

Victor hadn't realized he'd been crying until Chris came bursting into the room. Victor had momentarily forgotten that he'd pulled strings with the Russian Federation to get a room with two double beds, so Chris could bail on his own Swiss Federation-appointed room and instead share Victor's.

“Nothing, nothing,” he said, closing the page on his phone and rubbing at his eyes with a napkin. “Just reading another story about rescued puppies, you know how those things get to me.”

“Bullshit,” Chris snorted as he piled his luggage in the small space between his bed and the wall. “You are an absolutely terrible liar.” He came over and sat in the other chair across from Victor at the table in the room, reaching to snatch one of the onigiri that had come with Victor's lunch plate. “Tell me what you were really reading.”

Victor sighed heavily. “I was reading an interview with Cialdini. Did you know about his history in the sport? I knew he'd had to retire due to a career-ending injury, but I had no idea his career had ended so horrifically.”

“The Injury, with a capital I,” Chris nodded. “When I did that tour in the US a few years back that he was a choreographer on, I heard about it. He actually still walks with a slight limp when he's tired, and can't stay on skates too long either. I can't even begin to imagine what that must have been like.”

Victor nodded quietly as he chewed on a mouthful of his own onigiri. “It's amazing how he turned everything around though. He could have been bitter about it you know? Turned into one of those crotchety skating commentators that has nothing good to say about anyone or been a coach that was hard on all his students. I mean, we both know a few people like that.”

“Yes, and there's at least one that keeps bleeding students, sometimes in the middle of the season. Honestly I won't be surprised if there's some scandal involved there eventually,” Chris agreed. “But this was all why you were sobbing your heart out?”

Victor was quiet for a while after that, making a show of working on his bento and sharing the fish and vegetables with Chris. “I... it was more about how he talked about coaching. Why he's so crazy positive with his students. It's... I guess it just makes me see that I haven't always had the best kind of support. I'm just starting to realize some things is all.”

“I'm not sure I like where this is going,” Chris said. “Are you thinking of quitting?”

“No, not yet. But I am realizing how little I have stood up for myself. I think about all the hours I put in growing up, all the things I didn't get a chance to do. Sure, most skaters give up some part of their formative years, but a lot of them still have a life outside it. I'm starting to think I've given up a lot more than I ever knew I did.”

“Well I remember that year I came to Russia for the training camp. I thought we'd get time to hang out outside of it, but Yakov wouldn't hear of it, even though you were almost 18 and should have had some say in your private life. I knew that didn't feel right. Everything felt so regimented and strict. And yes, it's why Russia has always dominated the sport...”

“Exactly, but at what price?” Victor sighed. “I guess... it might be time to start making some changes in my life. Before it's too late.”

“This is all too deep for me,” Chris said with a smirk. “We should go to dinner later and kick back a little. Have a drink or two.”

“I can't, Yakov will –”

Chris blinked at that, then set his bottle of water down slowly as Victor shook his head.

“I'm beginning to see what you mean,” Chris said. “Well, then we'll just order room service and kick back that way. We can get scandalous and order porn on the TV.”

Victor was in the middle of a drink of his own water and nearly spit it out, trying not to choke as he burst out laughing. “Oh my god no, that is the last thing I need to be watching! Especially not with a roommate!”

“Awww cheri I'm disappointed, I thought we'd have a competition of our own,” Chris singsonged playfully, cracking up Victor that much more and prompting the Russian to whip his napkin at his friend.

“Fine, we'll order in, but we're getting a goddamned _normal movie_ ,” Victor laughed.

“All right all right. But we're going to get you out of this mood one way or another,” Chris said. “I don't like seeing you down like this.”

“I'll be fine,” Victor said, trying to sound nonchalant. “I just want to order a pizza and not think about skating till tomorrow.”

“Pizza? In Japan?” Chris laughed.

“Well... okay, something like it. You know. Something ridiculously bad for us that we shouldn't be having two days before a competition. But I don't care. Let's splurge,” Victor replied.

“Now you're talking,” Chris said. “Let's hit up Google and see what we can find around here that will deliver for us.”

  


  


“YUURRRIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!”

“Ooof! Phichit chill, you're going to knock me over and Ciao Ciao would _not_ be happy if I have to withdraw due to you busting my ass!”

Phichit had arrived in Osaka a few hours after Yuri had made his way up from Hasetsu, and was currently glued to Yuri in a tight hug as if the pair hadn't seen each other in two years rather than two weeks.

“So Ciao Ciao fixed the room situation?” Phichit asked as he went to drag his luggage in.

“Yep, he sweet-talked the JSF to let us room together since we're training partners. He's good like that. Hikaru was fine with it and just paired up with our other men's skater in his room.”

“Oh please!” Phichit laughed as he flopped down on his bed. “I think the JSF would give you anything right about now.”

“Maybe but I'm not going to milk it. You know me. It's bad enough I had a group of fans waiting for me at the airport and the hotel too and have been getting recognized now. I've been wearing a face mask and my beanie when I'm out because with my glasses and everyday coat no one recognizes me.... usually.”

“It's kind of fun seeing your face plastered everywhere on the event posters,” Phichit said. “I feel like I'm rooming with a supastah!”

“Oh shut it!” Yuri laughed, throwing a plushie he'd been given by a fan which bopped Phichit on the head.

“So how was home other than that?” Phichit asked, laughing as he whipped the plushie back at Yuri, bouncing it off his shoulder.

“It was nice. I got to spend time with Vicchan and Mari, and Minako even though we were working most of the time. Mom and Dad were always pretty busy with the onsen but we at least got to sit and have meals together.”

“Are your parents still kind of...”

“Clueless about skating? Yeah, pretty much. They watch me compete and everything, but they don't really understand it at all. Mari tries to explain to them, but it mostly just matters to them if I win or not. Mari knows it's deeper than that though, so that helps at least. She tries to help them understand. They mostly wanted to know how school was going and I had to finally break it to them that I deferred for the time being.”

“Oh, I bet that didn't go over very well.”

“Ahhhhhhh.... no,” Yuri sighed. “But I explained to them that there was no way I could keep going to college and train as much as I need to for the next four seasons if I want to make it to another Olympics. I still need to get consistent on the rest of the quads because with this new crop of first-year Seniors coming up and so many of them already having two and three quads, everyone is going to need them by then.”

“You can always finish school, you won't always be able to skate,” Phichit agreed. “Did they threaten to call Ciao Ciao and lecture him for taking you away from school?”

“They actually did. It got a little tense for a few minutes when I stood up to them about it because I've never done that before. But I'm gonna be 22 in a few days, more than of age in Japan. And it was my decision. Mari stood up for me too. They'll get over it, but I got the whole 'we're so disappointed with you' lecture. But... I kinda can't worry about that now. I have to go with my gut you know?”

“Oh for sure. It's always tough to stand up to your parents even when they are on board with stuff,” Phichit said. “It took me a while to get mine to warm up to letting me live alone halfway around the world, but they ended up trusting me on it. I think they like that we're friends though, they know I'm not all alone in Detroit.”

“Growing pains suck,” Yuri said. “Like, you can feel all adult and stuff and then you go home and talk with your parents and you're 12 again.”

“Yeeeeeepppers,” Phichit nodded. “What's that song we hear on the one radio station Ciao Ciao listens to, with the guy that's a movie star now?”

Yuri laughed at that. “It's called 'Parents Just Don't Understand', from when Will Smith was a rapper. Thanks for putting it into my head now!”

“Ooops!” Phichit laughed. “Anyway, enough about that. Did you run into Victor anymore?”

“He was ahead of me in line at accreditation with the other Russian skaters. I guess he's the only one here for the men's event that Russia sent. He didn't see me and just left with all of them, which is fine with me,” Yuri answered. “I've been up here since then.”

“I hope you're being good and not reading stuff online,” Phichit said.

“Why, anything I need to know about?”

“Eh, not really. Just the usual stan wars.”

“I'm sure all of Japan is expecting me to win,” Yuri said. “But honestly, if Victor sticks to his planned content this time, it could go either way. I almost wish he'd win here just so his fans can say he got his revenge. Maybe they'll leave us both alone for a while then, at least until Worlds.”

“Well that doesn't mean you should give him the chance to,” Phichit said.

“Oh definitely not, Ciao Ciao would kill me if I threw this competition. Besides, it's home ice. I'd never do that even if someone paid me. And I'm the defending NHK champion. I can't flop here that's for sure.”

“All you gotta do is skate clean and you'll have it,” Phichit said. “I'm gonna be honest, when we watched Rostelecom, even in the short where Victor stuck to his planned content? Your presentation is better than his. Even the other coaches at our rink were noticing. He does that Russian...” Phichit gestured broadly with both hands, flailing a bit. “... _thing_ where they kind of...”

“They tend to use their arms a lot. He's gotten better at toning that down, but I did notice some of his step sequence is on two feet. If he kept it to one in those parts his GOE would go up.”

“Coach Satsuki says she thinks that Yakov being an old school Russian coach is catching up to Victor, and that Victor needs to work with an outside choreographer. He's not seeing where he can maximize stuff because he's doing it all himself.”

“I never really noticed until practice at Rostelecom, when Ciao Ciao pointed it out. It's kind of like...”

“He's not trying as hard? Yeah,” Phichit said. “He's not going all in like he was at this time last season.”

“It's like... something... oh god.” Yuri buried his face in his hands. “I know exactly why he's not putting everything into it...”

“Yuri. Stop blaming yourself. You know how it works. He's responsible for picking himself up and dusting himself off. Not you. If he's letting you being competitive get to him, that's on him and Yakov to figure out,” Phichit said. “And he did want to take the first half of the season off but ended up not doing that so who knows what's really going on. But he needs to sort it out himself.”

Yuri sighed heavily and flopped back on his own bed. “I know. It's just so weird... he was the one to beat, the person I wanted to beat someday. And now it's me that everyone wants to beat. How in the hell did this even happen? How am I suddenly in his place?”

“You kicked ass at Olympics and Worlds?” Phichit replied.

“Well yeah but... oh nevermind. I'm starving. Wanna go get some dinner?”

Phichit knew immediately that Yuri was starting to get a bit too wound up; the sudden switch in conversation topic was one of his best friend's red flags that he needed to back down from a topic before it tripped up his anxiety. As such, Phichit rolled with it. “We're in Osaka, aren't they known for their okonomiyaki?”

“They are. Let's find a place and go get that,” Yuri said. “Let me just change into casual clothes, if I go out in my Team Japan gear I might as well be carrying a sign that says 'Hello My Name Is Katsuki Yuri'.”

Phichit laughed at that as he sat up and grabbed his phone, asking Siri to pull up the best place to go. “Yeah I better do that too, though I don't know if anyone's gonna be looking for the one lonely skater from Thailand quite so much... ooh, there's a place within walking distance and it's supposed to be the best one.”

“Perfect. Let's go now before it gets crowded for dinner,” Yuri replied.

  


  


It was a very foreign feeling for Victor to walk into the NHK venue for the first official practice and somehow feel like he was on enemy ground. Nothing had ever rattled him before the Olympics, but now, Japan felt that much more intimidating. Or maybe he was letting Yakov get too far into his head. As soon as he'd arrived in Osaka and met up with his coach, who had come from the French Grand Prix event after being with Georgi there, Yakov had begun his lecturing. No “how were you while I was gone” or “did Sergei have any notes for me on your practices” or “what did you work on with Lilia”. From the word go, it was all about what Victor needed to do to beat Yuri Katsuki.

But after reading the interview with Celestino, Victor was feeling a bit different about some things today. He and Chris had gotten just tipsy enough the night before on Japanese beer procured from the konbini within walking distance of their hotel that Victor had come clean about how he'd been feeling. As always, Chris had been sympathetic and helpful, and the support of Victor's closest (and maybe only true) friend had bolstered his confidence a bit.

But Yakov's scowl as they walked into the venue whenever Victor would flash his usual friendly grin or wink at someone had made him tone it down quickly. Some Russian skaters enjoyed being intimidating, almost never smiling and seeming cold or unreachable (though sometimes they'd get exposed when caught smiling in another skater's Instagram photo, or hanging out with skaters that were assumed to be their enemies). Victor had never been like that and it had been part of his charm, and a big reason why even though Russians had their various reputations in the skating fandom world, Victor had been universally loved.

But as Victor took to the ice for his practice group's warmup – thankfully, he was in the same group as Chris – he took a few moments as he skated his laps to glance around the arena. Already the fan-made banners were hanging from the upper deck and he spotted a few made for him, including one with Japanese lettering. He'd always had a Japanese fan base, and for the most part they hadn't seemed to abandon him even if it had felt like that sometimes.

Victor actually found that not having Katsuki in his group was a relief. Yakov was more stoic, focusing on what needed to be paid attention to and giving constructive criticism. His short program runthrough went well, with the quad Salchow, quad flip/triple toe and triple Axel all feeling solid. Lilia had brought into sharp relief how sloppy Victor's choreography in both the short and the long had been, and made particular note of his step sequences. This, combined with Victor having been playing a bit with figures, had led to some new movements that lent themselves to upping their overall difficulty.

“How many times did you practice that step sequence with the changes?” Yakov growled as Victor came over for a water break after finishing his program.

“We worked on it and the ones in the long on Monday. I ran them all at least 10 times a day the whole week and even went to the rink both days of the weekend despite Sergei being opposed to it,” Victor said. “I've got it memorized but I'm still getting used to it a bit.”

“You can see it. You're thinking through it and you look weak,” Yakov barked. “Practice it for the rest of this session!”

“Well if my coach had been paying more attention, he'd have noticed I needed work on my step sequences long before now and called me on them. But he's too worried about another skater that he doesn't even coach,” Victor snapped, then whirled around to skate to the other side of the rink and leaving Yakov fuming. As Victor circled around to the point on the ice where the sequence began he knew he'd hear it backstage, but he quite honestly didn't care. He was tired of being silent.

Chris had been on the opposite corner of the rink from where Yakov and Victor had their altercation, and though he couldn't understand Russian, the slightly raised voices and their tones were unmistakable. He cast a glance over to Victor, who was flying through his first run of the step sequence, making note of the murmurs in the audience. There would be rumors flying online before the practice session ended, and Chris tried not to worry for his friend as he thought quickly on his feet. Being the only men's skater currently attempting a quad Lutz had its advantages, and while his success rate was low with it, he was rather good at landing them in practice...

Victor knew immediately when Chris executed a nearly-perfect quad Lutz on the other side of the rink, drawing the crowd's attention, that he'd done it to quiet the murmurs Victor had also heard. Chris had said he wasn't planning on pulling it out at all for the event, even in practice, and Victor had known him long enough that he recognized his friend having his back. He continued working on the step sequence, feeling it beginning to flow more with each pass, until the end of the session. As the first group of men came off the ice, on the opposite side of the rink the next group spilled on and the arena exploded in cheers and applause as the Olympic Champion stepped on last.

Chris came over to Victor to converse idly with him in French to provide a diversion; seeing this Yakov gave a dismissive wave of his hand and made his way to the shuttle buses to leave the arena for the day. The pair sat down to take off their skates, with Chris noticing how quiet Victor was.

“Are you all right?” Chris asked quietly, keeping to French.

“Just waiting for the other shoe to drop. It always does when I fire back at him. I haven't heard the end of it,” Victor replied.

“Mon ami. You are almost twenty-six years old. You shouldn't be afraid of him anymore. You spoke your mind... unless you said something extremely bad, which, I admit, I wouldn't know.”

“Just pointed out that he hasn't been doing his job,” Victor replied, placing the soakers on his blades and setting his boots aside to air out, then changing into sneakers. “Sure, I should have made a more difficult step sequence, but I'd choreographed it for a show program. With all the focus on jumps, I forgot to tweak them to make them more difficult, but he should have caught it. Instead, I had my former choreographer notice it when she watched me skate on television. He's too worried about Mila and Yura, and doting on Georgi, and obsessing over me getting 'revenge' on Katsuki. I'm just... I'm tired of being the whipping boy because of one goddamned competition, Olympics or not.”

“Then just keep doing what you're doing,” Chris said. “At some point, he's got to realize you're grown up and he can't keep treating you like crap.”

“We'll see,” Victor said. “Let's go watch the other group, their warmup just ended.”

“Wanting to see your crush?” Chris teased as they headed out to find the reserved area for the skaters.

“What?!” Victor exclaimed as they climbed the stairs up to the seats; down below on the ice, Mickey Crispino began his runthrough.

“Oh, nothing,” Chris smiled as they sat down, with Victor shooting him a withering look before turning his attention to the ice.

Yuri felt more relaxed with the periodic flashes of Phichit flying by making it feel more like practice at home rather than a major competitive event on home ice. He had begun practicing just his triple jumps, reserving his full energy for the runthrough of his short, but even so every pass was met with cheers and shouts of “ganbatte!” from the Japanese fans, and encouragement in other languages from fans from other countries who'd come for the event. At one time, Yuri would have taken that on as pressure and the need to be perfect, but instead he'd learned to accept it for what it was and allow it to boost his own confidence.

While the skater from the Czech Republic, Emil Nekola, one of the many Seniors debuting this season did his runthrough, Yuri found himself warmed up enough to try a few quads. He circled around to a patch of ice near Celestino to give his coach a clear view, then made the mistake of glancing up into the crowd for a moment. Even though the world was a blur without his glasses, the unmistakable red and white Sochi team jacket topped with silver hair was still discernible enough for Yuri to realize that Victor was watching his practice in the stands. For a moment he felt a clench in his stomach, his many years of admiration for his idol threatening to attempt to overwhelm him. Instead, he circled around and over to Celestino, grabbing his water bottle.

“What do you want me to work on till my runthrough?” Yuri asked before taking a long drink.

“Hm... I'd say give the 4F a few shots. You've only landed it in competition twice so far, can't hurt to get your feet under you on it,” Celestino replied.

Yuri nodded and went back out, making a pass around the rink. Able to see enough to know if there was anyone nearby he waited for an opening and did a few connecting steps before vaulting into the air to land a perfect quad flip, arms and free leg extended elegantly and back straight as Minako had instructed him to pay extra attention to. Again the cheers and applause filled the arena for Yuri just as Emil finished his runthrough. It took Yuri everything to not glance up to see if Victor had applauded.

As Phichit took to center ice to begin his program, Yuri had to smile. It was an unspoken bit of fun between them that if they ended up in the same practice group, that one would try to upstage the other when either of them was doing a runthrough. It was a game they'd come up with mostly to help Yuri relax, and when they'd found it helped Celestino had encouraged them to continue. As such, as Phichit skated Yuri kept knocking off quad flips, then switching up to a quad Salchow-triple toe loop for the last two passes before the end of Phichit's program.

“He's looking pretty confident with that flip,” Chris noted; Victor was about to reply when Yuri landed the quad Sal in combination.

“He looks good overall,” Victor agreed. “It's only been two weeks but he looks even more solid.”

“Sometimes it just clicks in like that,” Chris said. “You can go for years and then suddenly overnight, you've got it.”

Victor nodded as the skater after Phichit finished and Yuri was called to center ice. “We'll see where he's at now, if he doesn't mark out his jumps.”

Celestino had left it up to Yuri as to whether or not he wanted to put in all the jumps in his short program runthrough; Yuri decided since today wasn't a competition day, that he would. He knocked off the quad flip with ease, and sailed into his triple Axel from the effortless spread-eagle position that connected it. He paid mind to his body positions as he moved through the step and choreographic sequences, extending a bit more, gesturing more dramatically, adding more joy into his stag leaps with his head thrown back and arms raised, palms up. By the time he got to the quad Sal-triple loop he almost felt like he was flying, and had trouble containing the energy as he finished with his final spin sequence. The crowd erupted in applause that might as well have been for a competitive program and Yuri allowed himself to grin openly. “Enjoy it, you deserve it,” Celestino had said, and Yuri decided that he would.

Phichit knew Yuri wouldn't look up into the crowd (and he probably wouldn't be able to see much anyway) so as he finished his own bit of showing off during Yuri's program with a few nicely-done quad toe loops, he paused to sip from his own water bottle and looked up to where he'd noticed Chris and Victor sitting. As Yuri's runthrough finished Phichit was pleased to find both of them applauding, with Chris yelling “Allez!!” and “Bravo” and Victor smiling warmly.

“Nice, nice, nice,” Celestino smiled as Yuri came over for a water break. “Looks good and solid.”

“It felt good,” Yuri agreed. “I'm happy.”

“Alright, both of you can just wind down, we've only got about twelve minutes left. A few more jumps each and then some laps to cool down when they call five,” Celestino instructed; the pair nodded and went off to follow his words as the practice time dwindled. As the session ended Yuri finally dared to look up to where he'd seen Victor and Chris sitting as he glided toward the exit off the ice, but found them already gone. Phichit came up beside him with a grin.

“I was wondering if you saw them,” Phichit said. “Interesting that they came out to watch.”

“I'm sure Victor at the very least is sizing me up. He promised he wouldn't go easy on me. His footwork looked a lot better today, he's changed it,” Yuri noted as he put on his blade guards, then moved out of the way for Phichit to come off the ice and do the same.

“It did. He's working on catching up to you,” Phichit grinned. “You shouldn't let him!”

“Oh god, you too?” Yuri laughed as they headed back with Celestino following, their coach having to laugh at Phichit's words as well.

“You can both give him hell tomorrow, how's that sound?” Ciao Ciao said, patting them both on the back. “Looked good today guys. I've gotta get to a meeting in a few, so I'll catch up with you both later at the hotel. Don't be late for the draw, it's in a half hour!”

“Yes yes I know!” Yuri laughed as Celestino made his way toward the conference rooms, his warning coming from knowing the pair tended to get distracted at times when they were together.

“Oh god, I did forget about the draw for a minute,” Yuri said. “I hope we don't run into them there.”

“If we do we do. Just say hi, bat your eyelashes and smile pretty,” Phichit giggled.

“What! Phichit are you crazy??” Yuri replied, his tone half aghast and half laughter.

“Overwhelm him with your charm!” Phichit laughed. “He'll be too smitten to win!”

“Oh my god _stop!”_ Yuri laughed. “You are ridiculous!”

The pair freshened up and packed their equipment before heading over to the larger conference room, where Yuri went over to join the rest of the Team Japan men, with Phichit tagging along as he was the only skater present from Thailand in any discipline. Now that he had his glasses on Yuri could see clearly and did not miss Victor and Chris coming in. Both were the only mens' singles representatives of their countries as well and thus sat together on the other side of the room.

The draw for the skate order was done in two groups, with the skaters being divided into said groups by their ranking. As such Phichit was in the first group to draw numbers, leaving him to skate second to last in his group. As the high-ranked skaters were called for the second half of the draw Yuri silently hoped he wouldn't end up with first, and breathed a sigh of relief as Chris pulled the number one slip from the bowl. Victor was the second-to-last to draw and pulled the number three; Yuri rose to go and pull his number as a matter of formality even though it was obvious he would be the last to skate in the final group. As he walked up he was thrown for a moment to find Victor not yet having moved away as one of the officials had stopped him to talk.

Yuri had hoped to just grab his slip, hold it up to take a quick photo and leave, but of course Victor had to turn around and see him as he stepped up to pull his slip out of the bowl. They met eyes for a moment, during which Victor gave Yuri a wink and then bowed regally, extending a hand palm up as if to escort him to the front of the room. A bit of laughter was peppered amongst the skaters, officials and media present, but for a brief moment Yuri almost felt as if he were being mocked. _No, he wouldn't do that,_ Yuri thought to himself as Victor walked away, with Yuri diverting his attention to pulling his “number 6” slip and posing for the cameras. Yuri returned to where Phichit was sitting, now alone as his two Japanese teammates had been in the first group's draw and had taken their leave.

“What is it?” Phichit asked as he noticed the slight frown on Yuri's face as he cast a glance over to where Victor was talking with a reporter with Chris doing the same a few paces away.

“I'm... not sure what that was about, what Victor did,” Yuri said.

“He was just being a goof,” Phichit said.

“I don't know... it felt like he was being... sarcastic?”

“Aww Yuri you know he wouldn't do that.”

“I... want to believe that, but...”

“Don't let it get to you. Stop right now. Because if he _is_ trying to get under your skin, it's working and you know what could happen if you let that bother you.”

Yuri was brought up short by Phichit's words. His friend had become Ciao Ciao's stand-in, offering encouragement and also wake-up calls when needed. “Yeah, true. He's probably trying to intimidate me. I've seen other Russians do it over the years. It's just...”

“I know it's a bit tough because he's always been your idol,” Phichit said, his tone sympathetic. “I really doubt it's anything personal. I mean, you were both in front of cameras, I bet this turns up on Twitter or Instagram as a funny moment. You know how he loves to ham it up.”

“Yeah...” Yuri looked over to where Chris and Victor were conversing again, the room almost empty save for a couple of stray media people and the officials preparing for the women's draw after their practices.

“I think you've accidentally unnerved him,” Chris said, feeling Yuri's eyes on them from across the room.

“What??” Victor replied. “What do you mean?”

“He's looked uneasy since you did your little show when he walked up for his number.”

“Oh god. Come on, let's go make nice,” Victor said.

“I should make you go yourself, you're the one who messed up.”

“Chris.”

“All right, all right. Come on.”

Phichit looked up as he and Yuri rose to leave. “Uh... they're coming over here.”

Yuri froze, pretending to crouch down to rifle through some some papers the skaters had been given, placing them on his chair as he fumbled with them.

“Yuuuuriiii.”

_Oh dear god, why did he just say my name like that..._

“I hope you aren't angry, I didn't mean to steal your thunder.”

Yuri felt Phichit grab the hood of his jacket and pull him up by it, his reaction genuine as he suddenly found himself face to face with Victor. “Huh? Oh, it's fine, I just kinda wanted to get it over with. It's always so awkward.”

“Are you sure?” Victor asked, both his tone and his expression seeming concerned.

“Yeah! Yeah it's okay,” Yuri said. “No offense taken.”

“Say, what are you gentlemen doing for lunch?” Chris said; he immediately had to remain cool as Victor “accidentally” stepped back and jabbed an elbow into Chris' ribs.

“Oh! We were trying to figure that out,” Phichit replied. “We –“

“We're meeting our coach. Work lunch,” Yuri said hurriedly, stepping over just enough to give Phichit a shoulder bump that was just slightly harder than it needed to be.

“Oh, that's too bad,” Chris said, trying not to burst into laughter as both Victor's and Yuri's faces flushed bright red. “Maybe dinner then?”

“You know I liked to get to bed early on the night before a competition,” Victor said with a smile. “I've got the most horrible jet lag, and I really need to catch up on my sleep. I'm practically falling asleep standing here.” Another jab into Chris' ribs, a bit harder this time; Phichit was now the one trying not to snortlaugh.

“Yeah, yeah, jetlag sucks,” Yuri replied nervously. “I got lucky with getting to come home for a bit, I had a week to recover. But yeah, you should sleep,” he stammered. _What the hell did I just say omg_

“I'm sure an extra hour isn't going to –“ Chris was stopped short by Victor stepping back and nicking the toe of Chris' sneaker with the heel of his own.

“Yes, we should all get lots of rest. I'm sure we'll catch up at the banquet. Anyway, good luck tomorrow!” Victor grinned, adding in a wink. “Let's get going Chris, we need to get our stuff out of the way so the ladies have room for theirs.” And with that, he grabbed Chris' bicep and practically pulled him out of the room, turning to him as soon as they got out into the hall to find Chris laughing uncontrollably.

“What the fuck Chris!” Victor half-cried, trying to keep it down as they headed back to the locker room.

“Y-your... your _face!”_ Chris said, breathless as he continued to laugh. “You have it _so fucking bad_ for that pretty Japanese boy!!”

“I do _not!”_ Victor snapped, face bright red again.

“You do!”

“Shut _up,_ or you'll have to find another room tonight.”

“Shhh, you don't want Yuri to think we're a couple.”

“ _Chris.”_ Victor, still red-faced, was shoving his things into his skate bag while trying to be careful with his boots, but nearly dropping them. “Enough.”

“Fine, fine,” Chris said, finally calming down. “But you only told me you thought it was a crush. I'd say it's more than that.”

“I don't want to talk about it now!” Victor said, his tone an urgent “hush” sound. “Let's go before we miss the shuttle.”

“Fine, fine. But we're discussing this further back at the hotel.”

The pair headed down the corridor toward the back entrance to the venue where the shuttle bus waited to return the skaters departing the venue to the hotel, still bickering as they turned the corner and disappeared. Less than a minute later Phichit and Yuri, who'd gotten caught up talking to Emil and Mickey, rounded the other corner at the opposite end of the hall.

“I hope they're gone,” Yuri said. “I don't think I want to deal with any more of that.”

“Man Yuri, if I didn't know better I'd say Victor was crushing on you.”

“Phichit. No. Stop. I can't even.”

“It could be a powerful weapon to utilize in defeating the firey Russian dragon!” Phichit giggled as he began to pack his things.

“Just stop! Chris had just embarrassed him that's all. It's nothing like that!” Yuri said as he hurriedly threw his things into his bag, double checking to make sure his blades were dry before putting the guards back on them.

“But _what if?”_ Phichit teased. “You'd make a gorgeous couple!”

Phichit found himself on the receiving end of a thwap on his shoulder with a wet blade soaker.

“Okay okay I'll stop. But you gotta admit that was hilarious. I've never seen Victor Nikiforov look that flustered about anything.”

As Yuri reframed the incident in his mind, he realized that he did indeed have to giggle himself. “Yeah, it was pretty funny wasn't it? Now I just gotta keep him flustered enough to beat him.”

Yuri saw Phichit's eyes start to glitter and knew he'd walked right into it.

“Yuri.”

“Get your mind out of the damned gutter!” Yuri half-shouted, prompting a response of laughter from Phichit as well as Emil, who had just come in with Mickey.

“Oh my god let's just get back to the hotel so I can hide until tomorrow!” Yuri said. “And no more from you about this! And _don't you dare tell Ciao Ciao!_ I'll never hear the end of it!”

“Okay okay!” Phichit laughed as they pulled on their team jackets and set off at as much of a jog as they could while pulling on their rollaway bags to catch the next shuttle bus back to the hotel.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This update is one day early because starting tonight the real-life figure skating World Championships will likely cause a severe lack of sleep, so I wanted to get it done before I forgot it.
> 
> As always, thanks for reading, and for the comments and kudos. 💜💙


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As friendships slowly grow stronger, Yuri learns more about who he'll be up against in more ways than one as the competition ramps up at the final event in the 2014 Grand Prix Series, where the three remaining skaters heading to the Final will be determined.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been following skating for a long time, but was never super good with the technical nuances, especially once the Code of Points system was implemented. I'm researching and learning as I write to supplement the surface knowledge I've accumulated over the years. However, I have to thank @SkatingScores over on Twitter for their amazing [Element Score Calculator](http://skatingscores.com/calc/) which has helped me double-check the accuracy of the jump values that I'd been guessing at for this story. I found I was pretty much correct, but this is going to be a godsend going forward! Thank you for all your hard work!

Yuri was doing his best to not get too wound up about the short program, but being immersed in a Japanese venue and seeing the posters with his face all around as he'd come and gone during the past two days hadn't helped. He'd just finished doing some sound bite pre-competition interviews with the various television stations from around the world and was now doing his best to clear his head. As he stretched out he looked up at one of the monitors nearby to see that Phichit was next to skate. The Thai skater was just coming up in the ranks and as such was in the first group, with enough time that Yuri could pause to watch his friend before he got ready for the second and final group's warmup.

Phichit only had one quad toe in his arsenal, and Yuri held his breath as he set up for it. His consistency had been hit and miss so far, and he cringed a bit as Phichit got all the rotations in, but put a hand down on the landing. Yuri remembered what that felt like, to be so close yet so far, and knew Phichit would be disappointed for a bit before his usual sunny optimism returned and he focused on hitting it in the long. He went on to land his triple Axel and triple Lutz-triple toe combination flawlessly, though Yuri knew with the big guns in the final group Phichit would probably end up at the top of the first group of skaters unless someone went horribly awry later on.

Yuri turned away from the monitors and went back to get costumed up, pulling his thoughts together while closing out everything else but what lay ahead. Having drawn last to skate, he'd get a taste of the ice in the warmup and then have to wait through the other five skaters, including the Chinese skater Cao Bin, Emil, Mickey, Victor and Chris in that order.

Skating last was almost as bad as skating first. When one was first, they had very little time to regroup after the warmup, even though it got things over with faster. Not only was it nervewracking to be the first to lead off the group of top-ranked skaters, but there was a little tradition called “saving the marks”. Often, judges would reserve their highest scores for the skaters that came later, especially if they knew said skater was capable of huge marks. Skating last meant it was the final impression of the competition left to the judges and fans, and it also meant keeping one's body warmed up for a good 30 minutes minimum. It was often painful to keep boots laced tightly for that long, but if they felt _just right_ , it was touchy to undo them.

All of these factors were things that had upended Yuri over the years and had caused a lot of his anxiety in the past. But Celestino had helped him with at least the skating-induced issues, on top of the professional help he'd gotten Yuri. They had a plan in place for keeping him warmed up when he skated last, and he'd also gotten over the hurdle of undoing his boots by practicing ad infinium how to tie them to get them to feel just right every time. Yuri could tie his boots with his eyes closed now, and with only a rare exception when he'd reach down to re-lace one last time before going out to skate, he was confident in even the smallest of details now.

Yuri came out of the changing room, fully-dressed and laced up, just as the second-to-last skater in the first group hit the ice. He saw Phichit in the “mixed zone” media area giving interviews, then sought out Celestino who was in his usual place near the pathway to the ice.

“How are you feeling?” Celestino asked.

“I'm good,” Yuri said.

“You sure?”

 _How does he always know?_ “It's Japan. You know how it goes.”

“I do. It was like that when I skated at home too. But that doesn't matter. Your best is your best no matter where in the world you are. And whatever you put down out there today, I know you're gonna crush it. I've seen you unleash the fucking fury more than once,” Celestino winked, the expression a private joke between the two of them that made Yuri smile and relax.

“I shall roar like big dragon!!” Yuri laughed in return, running with the playful dialogue.

“Fly like one too. Chew 'em up, spit 'em out!” Celestino replied.

The Japanese volunteer hurrying around to gather the skaters stopped next to Yuri, bowing her head politely and informing him that it was time to go to the rinkside holding area.

“Let's show 'em what they're dealing with,” Celestino grinned, giving Yuri a hearty clap on the shoulder as they headed out.

Victor had just walked out and was standing next to Chris as the skaters gathered, their coaches waiting just behind as the final skater from group 1 finished and headed to the kiss and cry. Without an ice resurface in between it would only be a few more minutes before the warmup began. As he'd expected, after not seeing Yakov again until the following morning's practice, Victor's coach had a few words to say about his remarks the day before, which Victor had promptly disregarded. He was far too old to be lectured about “acting like a child” and being reminded that “I'm the coach not you.” Victor had wanted to reply with some variation of that Yakov wasn't getting paid to coach Yuri Katsuki, but he'd held his tongue in lieu of keeping his mood even for the rest of the day.

The marks were announced and the entrance to the ice opened as the announcer read off the names of the final group of men in skate order. Victor did his best to tune out the deafening roar that accompanied Yuri's introduction as he settled into laps around the rink. The temperature of the rink was a bit warmer than it really should have been and as such the ice was a little soft, the tracks in it from the previous group a bit deeper than normal. Victor wondered at the wisdom of not doing a resurface all things considered, but made note of where there were the most tracks and gouges: the corners and the sides at center ice, the places were most jumps were laid out in various skaters' programs.

Chris was already into his triple jumps, but found the periodic roars from the crowd whenever Katsuki landed a jump mildly distracting at first before he tuned them out. This was his first time in Japan since Katsuki had won the Olympics and Worlds, having withdrawn from Worlds himself, and had pretty much expected the level of support for their home country's star. He pushed it down into the back of his mind as he continued, finally working up to landing one quad Lutz after having decided to add it into his short program once it had felt good in both of the practices leading up to the competition.

Yuri had closed his mind to everything, even the roars of the crowd, as he worked up to his own quad toe loops. He had also noticed the dodgy ice conditions and found himself stumbling on a triple flip when his blade caught a rut in the ice. Most of the skaters in the previous group required more setup for their jumps, and as such the ruts and tracks were closer to the boards. Yuri was able to land his jumps with much less setup, and made mental notes as he tried out all of the areas of the rink to keep himself a decent distance from the edges of the ice for all but crossovers.

The warmup went quickly and everyone was called off save for Cao Bin, the first to skate. As Yuri went over to sit down and undo his boots for the moment, Celestino sat down with him.

“The ice looks a bit rough,” Celestino said. “Everyone looked a little slower.”

Yuri nodded as he took a long drink of water, setting the bottle down next to him. “Yeah, the rink temperature has it a bit soft. Lots of ruts. I caught my edge on one for the triple flip.”

“When you go out for your warmup, check around. If you find a hole or exceptionally deep rut, let the ref know so they can fix it. I don't want you hitting anything and getting hurt.”

Yuri nodded. “Will do. Most of it is close to the edges so I think I'll be okay. I just hope everyone else looks out for it too.”

Victor was fourth to skate and decided to leave his boots laced and just keep moving, as with it being the short program the wait time wouldn't be too long. Indeed he looked up and saw Cao Bin getting his marks on the monitor, the cameras then switching to Emil as he received final words from his coach before his introduction. As he paced back and forth, his earbuds in as he listened to his program music, he looked up to see Katsuki moving through his choreography in his socks on the floor mats, eyes closed as usual. Part of Yakov's words to Victor at that morning's practice had included the assumption that Katsuki would crack under the pressure of skating at home, but Victor refused to rely on that. Not with what he knew of Celestino's coaching methods. Katsuki didn't appear even the least bit concerned.

As Mickey Crispino began his program Victor took a section of the warmup area on the other side of the mats from Yuri to do some last-minute lunges to stretch out his legs, still in his guarded blades. As the volunteer came to get him Victor rose, casting one more glance over at Yuri who had sat down on a bench next to his skates.

Victor hadn't meant to make eye contact, but Yuri looked up randomly. Victor was shaken by fire that gathered in Katsuki's eyes a second after he realized who he was seeing; an expression that clearly said _not on my country's ice you won't._ As he walked out to the rinkside holding area Victor knew he'd have to lay down the short program of his life, because Katsuki was clearly out for blood.

As Mickey exited the ice Victor pulled off his guards, handing them to Yakov and taking off with a fire of his own. He knew he had to treat this ice as enemy ground, that he had to roll with that feeling that had overwhelmed him upon walking into the building for the first practice. He continued to skate laps, stretching his legs with scissors and lunges with an occasional single jump, keeping a wary eye on the ice which was even more roughed up after three skaters in the final group. As the marks were being announced something caught Victor's eye; a deep hole in the ice from someone's toepick in one of the far corners. He immediately skated over to the referee to inform them and skated a few lazy circles as someone was sent out to patch it. Finally he was formally introduced and he took his place at center ice, taking a deep breath and striking his opening pose.

Victor reached within as much as possible as he began his program, knowing that he'd have to skate completely clean to come close to Katsuki's tech scores. Yakov had been insisting on the quad loop for Victor's first jumping pass, and after he'd landed a pair of decent ones in that morning's practice, Victor was feeling a bit confident. He set up, gathering his body from the core and sitting back into the entry...

Phichit knew Yuri was too in the zone to be watching right now; Yuri only watched his competitors skate once he'd skated himself. But it was the knowledge of how much Yuri would have fanboyed-out over Victor landing a gorgeous quad loop even with a slightly shaky landing that cost him a -1 in GOE that made Phichit wish his friend had seen it happen. He looked over to where Yuri was leaning on the wall doing his hip stretches while resisting the urge to run over and tell him, knowing it would likely break his focus.

Victor sailed through the rest of the program on the high from landing the quad loop with the triple Axel and his combination feeling easy after the immense effort. As he hit his ending pose the crowd exploded into cheers, with roses and a few plushies raining down on the ice as he took his bows. As he began to skate toward the Kiss & Cry he saw Chris crossing in front of him, his friend looking over to flash him a congratulatory grin that he returned before stepping off of the ice.

“It is about time you listened and tried the loop again,” Yakov muttered as Victor put on his blade guards. “That should put you ahead of Katsuki.”

“Not by much,” Victor said. “It's probably going to come down to the component scores. But now that I did the loop and you see how little of a difference it makes, maybe you'll shut up about it.”

Yakov's head snapped toward Victor, mouth halfway open to retort when the announcer cut him off with the marks, which put Victor in the lead. Victor waited until the cameras switched to Chris before he stood up abruptly and walked off to the backstage area, where he found himself needing to veer to the right as Katsuki and Celestino made their way to rinkside. Victor still saw the same fire in Katsuki's eyes and wondered if he'd seen what had happened so far, but Yuri's face gave no indication one way or the other. Victor really wanted to watch Chris' performance but instead was herded to the mixed zone by Yakov to provide sound bites for the press.

Yuri tried to filter out as much as he could of Chris' performance, but happened to look up just in time to see Chris triple his planned quad Lutz. Chris was a formidable competitor, but adding any new jump to your arsenal was always hit and miss. The only way to really get the confidence was to do them in competition and take the risk of missing it. Yuri remembered that all too well when he'd been learning his quads, but he had the benefit of a bit more youth on his side that made it a little easier to perfect them. Even so, he felt for Chris a bit as the other man finished his program, as Yuri knew the tripled quad Lutz would likely sit Chris in second place. As the all-clear was given Yuri went out onto the ice, falling into crossovers to warm up his legs along with a few single jumps before heading back for a final word from Celestino.

“You know what you gotta do. You've met your match jump-wise, but your spins and footwork are tops. Just give 'em the show I know you can and this short program is yours,” Ciao Ciao said with a hearty pat on Yuri's shoulders with both hands. Yuri nodded then crouched down, holding onto the boards and head bowed, taking in one last deep breath. Slapping the boards with both hands he popped up and headed to center ice as his name was called. Instead of letting the sea of Japan flags intimidate him, the roar of the crowd drown him, he soaked it in with arms extended and a smile. _Embrace it. You're loved and supported. No matter what happens, what you already have accomplished no one can take from you._

Victor had finished his interviews in time to see Chris' marks, his face dropping a bit as he watched the replays and saw his friend miss the quad Lutz. It wasn't uncommon to miss a new jump one landed in practice when tried in competition, but he knew as well as Chris did that the only way he'd eventually nail it was to keep trying. As he sat down in the “TV lounge” with current third-place skater Mickey Crispino, Victor saw Phichit watching another monitor intently as Yuri began to skate.

During his warmup laps Yuri had made note of the ice conditions and saw nothing that would really hinder him insofar as jumps – or so he thought. As he landed his quad flip he felt his landing blade slot right into a track in the ice from a previous skater, causing him to fight hard for the landing. He felt his body pitch forward, his arms flail a bit to keep his balance, then the relief of the blade catching smooth ice as the runout of the landing continued on. He knew it would cost him a point or more GOE, the result meaning all of his other jumps needed to be perfect. Literally thinking on his feet his mind shifted back to a variation of the entry to his triple Axel that he'd tried previously in practice, and where he would have gone into the spread eagle he opted for a twizzle with four rotations that ended with him facing forward into the textbook execution of his favorite jump. The roar of the crowd had barely died down before he sailed off into his next elements, the adrenaline from landing the Axel with the entry variation carrying him through the rest of the program.

Victor shook his head, deeply impressed as Katsuki landed the quad Salchow-triple toe loop cleanly after making up the lost GOE on the quad flip with the Axel entrance. With every performance, Katsuki just kept getting better. He really was the exceptional talent Celestino had intuitively known he was – and the frightening part was that Victor could clearly see there was even more potential to be unlocked.

Victor had to smile as Katsuki finished his program, both at the performance and at Phichit's squeal of glee from where he stood at the monitor across the room with the two other Japanese men from the first group, who also were cheering excitedly. He ignored the camera lens he knew was looming to his right for as long as he could, then finally turned and winked into the camera as he applauded. Mickey retained his third-place seat for the moment as Chris arrived, sitting down in the second-place seat as Yuri came off the ice on the monitor in front of them.

“Tough break on the Lutz,” Victor said to Chris with a tone of condolence.

“If at first you don't succeed, try try again,” Chris smiled. “I'll give it another shot in the long.”

“Nobody's beating that though,” Mickey said as he gestured to the screen, where a slow-motion replay of Yuri's quad Salchow-triple toe loop was being shown. “He's gotten so good since Juniors. All it took was the right coach.”

“It certainly seems that way from what I've heard,” Victor said. “It's hugely impressive that the Olympics were quite far from a fluke, because that does happen so much you know?”

“Oh yeah,” Mickey replied. “I thought it would be because I knew how inconsistent Yuri has been over the years. But god damn, Celestino needs to bottle and sell whatever he's doing right and share the wealth.”

Chris and Victor quickly stifled the laughter in reply to Mickey's comment as Yuri's marks came up. Even with the shaky quad flip landing and subsequent attempt to make up the points, Yuri was three points ahead of Victor after the component scores were added in. Mickey rose and shook Chris and Victor's hands before taking his leave, with Chris moving to the third place seat and Victor the second just in time for Yuri to come in to sit in the leader's spot for the obligatory television shot, accepting congratulations from Victor and Chris.

“You looked amazing out there,” Victor smiled, feeling that same flutter in his chest again as Yuri's face flushed.

“The flip landing was shaky. I hit a rut and my blade followed it. I came out of it just in time,” Yuri said.

“There was a nice big hole I had them fix before I skated,” Victor said. “It is a bit too warm in the building, and it's affected everyone today.” The three men then rose as Yuri was called to the mixed zone, hurrying off in his guarded blades.

“Were you trying to console the poor lad who is leading you by three points?” Chris teased Victor as they made their way to the back to change before the press conference.

“Even though they don't account for it with the judging outside of docking him on GOE, that shaky landing wasn't his fault. Ice conditions are out of our control. I guess it just annoys me that he wasn't perfectly clean. I like it best when my competitors perform to their peak.”

“But neither were you. If you'd learn to point your toes as pretty as he does in his camel spins, you'd probably get those extra presentation points too,” Chris winked.

“You're sounding like Yakov now,” Victor said, a slight edge in his voice.

“Sorry,” Chris said.

Victor sighed as they sat down on the locker room bench to take off their skates. “No... I'm sorry. Regardless of placement I'm happy with how I skated. I finally landed that god damned quad loop. I'll likely need it for the Grand Prix Final, but then I can give it a rest at least. No one at Russian Nationals or Euros is worth trying it for.”

Chris laid a hand on Victor's shoulder. “That's the important thing, that you're happy. I didn't mean to say you shouldn't be.”

“I know. I guess I'm just on edge lately. I _like_ having a challenge to push me. And truth be told, it's nice knowing there's someone who can beat me. It takes some of the pressure off. But then it's all on him... and in that I feel for him.”

“He seems to be handling it well though,” Chris replied. “I think you need to focus on yourself a little more. If you worry about Yuri much more, you'll be coaching him.”

“Wouldn't that be something?” Victor laughed. “I don't see it happening, but you really never know. I'm getting old, Chris, I might retire and see if Celestino needs an assistant.”

“Oh please cheri. I believe that about as much as I believe Katsuki is going to retire at the end of this season.”

Victor had to snort at that as he grabbed his Team Russia gear to change into. “That would be Yakov's dream, not mine,” he replied.

 

 

Yuri stood in the middle of the rain of plushies and flowers, the roar of the crowd deafening. Fourth in the draw for the free program, he really wasn't sure how Mickey and Chris, the final two skaters, would handle the aftereffects of the chaos – especially when he wasn't even sure he knew what was going on himself.

Victor had skated first in the final group, once again attempting the quad loop but tripling it instead and forcing him to change the planned triple loop to another jump so as not to repeat and force a deduction. Although the Russian had been first up until now, Yuri knew his clean program might surpass Victor's. As he took his bows, the same thought kept running through his head: _how the hell did I get here?_

Yuri's head had just begun to clear from the rush he'd caught after his successful final jumping pass when he began to hear singing from one part of the crowd, which quickly began to spread. As he skidded to a stop in front of Celestino, his coach, ever the dork when he wanted to be, joined in as the arena filled with voices.

_Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Yuri, happy birthday to you!_

“Well geez, if you wanted a shitload of presents I'm sure all you had to do was ask!” Celestino laughed as the flower kids came over with their armfuls of plushies and flowers.

“It's better to work for it!” Yuri laughed as they sat down, feeling his face flush that much more from the outpouring of love from the fans. One of the flower girls came over and handed him a stuffed birthday cake plushie, wishing him a happy birthday in Japanese at which he reached out and gave her a quick hug in thanks. The crowd had just started quieting down when the marks were announced: A new season's best free program score, which when added to the short program was a new season's best overall score and a definite first place finish, guaranteeing him a spot in the Final for the first time even with two men left to skate.

“Woooooo baby I love it! Guess we're booking our tickets to France tonight!” Celestino cried as Yuri stood to wave to the crowd, grinning and bowing a few times before they made their way toward backstage to the shouts from the fans sitting above the Kiss & Cry and the exit to backstage. He did a quick pass through the mixed zone for sound bites during Mickey's skate, arriving at the TV lounge just as Mickey hit his ending pose.

“Yuuuuuriiiiii, I didn't know it was your birthday!” Victor said as he moved over to the second place seat on the couch. He tried not to laugh as Yuri startled, blinking at him then flushing bright red.

“Y-yeah... I didn't expect all that out there,” Yuri stammered. _God this is so awkward..._

“Happy birthday Yuri!” Emil grinned from his third place seat.

“Yes, happy birthday, it's certainly a good one,” Victor said with a smile.

“Yeah... it's working out okay,” Yuri said, feeling even more shy suddenly, which was only made worse by Emil reaching over to give him a birthday hug before vacating the third place seat for Mickey as Chris took the ice to end the night.

Yuri nodded to Mickey then turned his attention to the screen where Chris had just begun his free program, with his first jumping pass scheduled to be another attempt at the quad Lutz. Out of the corner of his eye Yuri saw Victor lean forward a bit, folding his hands tightly and murmuring a “davai”. Yuri himself held his breath as Chris moved through the connecting steps, making the entrance that much harder, then picked in. Yuri counted the rotations and saw he got them all, then fought hard for the landing which saw him pitch forward, but was ultimately clean as he moved off to his next element.

Victor pumped a fist in the air. “Yes!!! First time he's gotten that in competition!!”

Yuri found himself grinning; he knew all too well the feeling of accomplishment landing a new jump instilled in a skater. “Man that was pretty, is he the first to land it overall??”

Victor blinked, thinking for a moment. “Oh... oh! Yes! I think he is!!” he replied with a huge grin.

Yuri wasn't exactly sure why that huge grin evoked a pang of something in his stomach. There had been occasional rumors about Victor and Chris... _oh my god stop that why do you care??_

Yuri's head cleared immediately as Victor whooped again, with Chris continuing to nail his next three jumping passes. The rest were after the halfway mark of the program and certain to be tougher. The room fell silent as they continued to watch, which was broken a few moments later by Victor's disappointed groan as Chris tripled the intended quad toe loop in his quad toe-triple flip combination, then stumbled out of the landing of a triple loop. He pulled it together, the last two jumping passes clean, but any chance he'd had of surpassing Victor for silver was gone.

“He should still get bronze for that,” Mickey said. “And he got gold at his other event so he might just make it in to the Final.”

“They'll probably announce the final standings at the banquet,” Yuri said, “if they're not on the Internet before then.”

“He's got to make it,” Victor said quietly. “He got downgraded for the mistakes but he didn't fall. There shouldn't be any deductions.”

The three men watched as it seemed to take an extra amount of time for Chris' marks to come up; in the end he was about eight points below Victor but still clinched the bronze medal. They rose, congratulating each other before Victor made his way to the backstage door to catch up with Chris.

“Don't look so disappointed. You landed the first quad Lutz in competition!” Victor grinned.

“Was it??” Chris replied, eyes going wide. “I didn't realize that! I guess I did better than I thought.”

“You ran out of gas a bit at the end,” Victor said. “But you fought for it.”

“Look at you Mr. Cheerleader,” Chris grinned.

“You did your best right?”

“Of course.”

“Then it was a good skate,” Victor nodded.

“I've been telling him that too, but of course he listens to you,” Chris' coach Josef Karpisek said as he came up behind the two men. “That quad Lutz is taking him to the Final.”

“It is,” Victor grinned, patting Chris on the back.

“We have to wait for the final tally on that. But if I do make it, I just have to make sure I land that Lutz again!” Chris laughed as they headed over to the press line to drop more sound bites before the medal ceremony. Victor looked over to the cluster of Japanese press around Yuri, who was being watched over by Celestino. The ever-attentive coach stepped in as Yuri began to appear overwhelmed, saying that he would talk more at the official press conference after the medal ceremony then pulling him away.

“Think you can beat him at the Final?” Karpisek asked Victor as he watched the Russian look over at Yuri.

“Honestly? I'm going to have to clean up my quad loop and make sure I land the quad flip in combination, or I'll be in trouble. He's just...”

“Gifted,” Josef finished. “He's got that _something._ It's not just the technical prowess. He moves like almost no one I've ever seen before... except for one skater.”

“Oh? Who's that?” Victor asked, curiosity piqued; he was confused when Joseph broke into laughter.

“You can't tell? Some of his footwork and spin positions are right out of your playbook, just modified for his extra flexibility. If he's not influenced by you I'll eat my hat.”

Victor blinked, then remembered how Sara had said Yuri was a big fan just as Phichit ran over to Yuri a bit away, hugging him tightly with a happy squeal. He felt his own face flush a bit as he looked back to Josef.

“Well, that would be very flattering if so,” Victor said with a smile. “But I think he's about to go beyond what I've done.”

“And how do you feel about that?” Josef asked as Chris joined them after finishing a short convo with a reporter.

“Challenged. Invigorated. I've got something to strive for again. Because contrary to popular belief, it gets boring when there's only one other skater out there pushing you,” Victor replied with a nod to indicate Chris.

“Darling, I think we're both being pushed now,” Chris said. “But I do have to admit it's rather thrilling to see another skater vying for the title of Living Legend.”

Victor looked back over to Yuri, whose attention had been drawn to the volunteer coming to round the three men up for the medal ceremony.

“It is. Though I'd like to beat him at least once this season. You know, just to prove it can actually be done. I guess we'll see what happens in Marseille,” Victor replied with a wink.

 

 

The free dance was the only competitive event left for the final day of NHK, followed by the exhibition gala shortly afterward. The banquet was set to take place that night, and after another hectic backstage area during which Victor once again had found himself unable to connect with Yuri save for their moments skating together in rehearsals, he returned to the hotel with Chris to get ready for the night's festivities.

“So the final standings are out,” Chris said as he scrolled through his phone. “For Marseilles it's Katsuki, Nikiforov, Popovich, Crispino, Altin and Giacometti. I've heard a lot about Altin, he's apparently quite good.”

“It's his first year as a Senior, but yes, he is. A decent mix of veterans and new kids though,” Victor said. “Yuri actually just missed the Final last year.”

“Oh so I guess he'll be getting a gold for that now,” Chris teased with a smirk.

“You're giving up already?” Victor shot back.

Chris blinked as he realized what he'd just said. “Oh well... no.”

“Neither am I. We both need to give him a run for his money.”

“Somebody's angry.”

“No... it's just, when we were talking with Josef, I realized I'm starting to enjoy being able to sit back and let someone win just a little _too_ much. I'm not slacking by any means, but I need to not get too comfortable with silver.”

“True, true. But I don't think you're doing that, for what it's worth,” Chris said. “Katsuki is just too good to let your guard down for a moment on.”

“Well I won't make it easy for him. I may have broken my own Worlds streak by withdrawing this past year, but I won't give up my third consecutive Grand Prix Final gold as easily.”

“Oooooh, I like when you get feisty,” Chris laughed. “Does that mean the romance is over?”

Victor looked up, eyes wide. “There is no romance!”

“Mmhm. You're talking big now, but you know once you get to the banquet and see those pretty brown eyes you're going to melt into a puddle again.”

“Chris.”

“Victor.”

“Shut up.”

“All right, fine,” Chris laughed as he headed to the shower. “But I'll enjoy saying I told you so by the end of the night.”

 

 

The banquet had its usual slew of officials droning on about various things, the announcement of the final six competitors in each discipline for the Grand Prix Final, and a couple of athlete speeches. Victor was happy they served dinner before all of this as he'd likely have gotten even more restless than he already was if he'd been hungry on top of everything else. Once the formalities were over the skaters began to mingle, with the younger ones running about trying to get photos with the bigger names. As he wandered around, chatting with those he knew along the way he saw a cluster of mostly Japanese people over in one corner near the JSF's table. As he drew closer Victor's assumption proved correct as he spotted Yuri at the center, Celestino at his side along with the JSF rep as the skater did a meet and greet of what were likely several VIPs.

“Waiting in line?”

Victor turned to see Chris next to him, a glass of champagne in each hand, one of which he handed to the Russian.

“Well I would like to talk to him one-on-one, but if the last time he was at a banquet was any indication, he'll slip out before I get the chance,” Victor said. “I'm glad Celestino's keeping a watch on him. I remember how overwhelming these things were in the beginning.”

“He's been through this for a few seasons though,” Chris reminded him.

“I mean when you become the It Boy,” Victor clarified. “When everyone wants to talk to you, everyone wants a piece of you, you don't really get to relax and be yourself.”

“Banquets are always about putting on a show, even if it is a time to relax,” Chris said as they sat down at an empty table nearby. “You still have the younger skaters being fankids, officials making nice... it's all such a bore now. Just once I'd love to shake things up at one of these swanky affairs.”

Victor smirked as he swallowed a mouthful of champagne. “Oh god, I don't even want to think about what you'd pull,” he replied. He was about to continue when the cluster of people around Yuri and his coach began to dissipate. Celestino stayed with him for a few moments and they talked a bit more, then parted ways with Yuri looking around, presumably for Phichit.

“Hurry hurry, go get him,” Chris teased as Victor rose.

“I'm trying,” he replied as he wove his way through the mostly empty tables. He was almost there when both he and Yuri heard Phichit calling Yuri's name, at which the Japanese skater turned and headed in his friend's direction. Once they'd met up they immediately moved off toward a group of the younger skaters, which greeted the pair with familiarity.

“Isn't Phichit more or less fresh out of Juniors?” Chris asked as Victor came back with a sullen expression on his face, sitting back down. “I think that's why they're over there, most of those are first-years.”

“I'll just wait a bit and see if they get freed up again,” Victor said, raising his hand as a server with a tray of champagne glasses came by, taking two from it.

“Why are you so worried about talking to him anyway?” Chris asked as he took the glass Victor handed to him. “Other than the obvious reasons.”

“I just want to make sure he knows he doesn't have to be terrified of me,” Victor said. “I don't like the idea that he is.”

“I don't think he's afraid of you, just an anxious little bean,” Chris smiled as he sipped his drink. “But you're being awfully concerned for someone who's gunning for your seat at the top.”

“At the end of the day competition is just that. You can still be a human wanting to help.”

“True, true. Oh look how adorable, a group photo.” Chris gestured with his glass over to the group the pair had gone to talk to, with Phichit extending his phone out on a selfie stick to get everyone in the photo. “Maybe we should go over and hold court with our adoring fans.”

“Are you serious?” Victor said.

“Well not exactly. Let's just kind of... pass by as we make our way around the room. Someone is bound to ask the Russian Living Legend for a photo,” Chris winked.

Victor sighed in exasperation; Chris _did_ have a point. “All right. Let's try it before they break it up.”

The duo rose and made their way out of the tables, rounding the curve and heading toward the group of when Victor heard his name called by one of the Russian pair team skaters. Not exactly unable to say he couldn't really talk at the moment, he cringed inwardly and turned toward her as he put on his best smile. Chris, taking the cue, still headed over to the group of younger skaters and just as he'd thought, three immediately started gushing about the quad Lutz he'd landed in the free. Phichit and Yuri were just on the outside of the group, listening in until there was a break in the conversation.

“I didn't get to congratulate you on that,” Yuri said. “That was pretty amazing to see.”

“Why thank you cheri. I have to work hard on it, because I want to be the first man to land one at the Grand Prix Final,” Chris replied with a smile.

“Can we take a picture with you?” Phichit chimed in; Chris immediately noticed the flush that crossed Yuri's face.

“But of course!” Chris replied. “Oh, look! Here comes Victor,” he noted after casting a glance over to see what the Russian was doing to find him hurrying away from the pair skater and over to the group.

“Perfect timing!” Phichit grinned as Victor smiled, this time genuinely, in return. “Come on, get in our picture!”

“Don't mind if I do,” Victor replied. Chris had been about to slip in between Phichit and Yuri but instead moved over to Phichit's right, leaving Yuri's left side open. Victor stepped in, moving in closely to make sure the four of them were in the photo. He stole a glance at Yuri's profile from his close position, the closest he'd ever been to the shy skater. He looked quite stunning with his hair combed back as he usually did for competition combined with his glasses. He wore a rather terrible blue striped tie with his navy suit, but Victor decided he could forgive it since it was attached to a rather lovely face...

_Oh god don't even do this to yourself Victor..._

“Okay ready? One... two... three!” The flash on Phichit's phone went off, capturing the photo. As soon as it was done a few of the younger skaters caught Victor up in conversation and requests for more photos, which he couldn't be rude and refuse. Behind him he heard Chris engaging both Phichit and Yuri in conversation, and was thankful for his friend's help. Finally he found himself freed up and turned back to where the trio were still talking. He walked over to Yuri and placed a light hand on the Japanese skater's shoulder.

“Do you have a moment?” Victor asked; again that flutter in his chest as Yuri's face flushed.

“Uh... sure,” Yuri replied, following Victor as he stepped a bit away from Chris and Phichit, who were deep into a conversation about something or other, apparently hitting it off quite well.

“Look... I just wanted to, well very belatedly, apologize for being cold in Sochi,” Victor said, deciding it was best to cut to the matter at hand so as not to worry Yuri. “It was just... a very overwhelming thing, and there was a lot of pressure on me to win there...”

“I know... I'm sure it was the same as Worlds in Japan... though like... a lot more. I... would think...” Yuri stammered, taken aback by Victor's words. _Oh god don't keep talking, you're going to say something stupid..._

“It's just... I don't like how the media and my federation are pushing this rivalry thing... and I guess I just wanted you to know that I get it, and it's not anything personal,” Victor said, feeling a flush coming over his own face as he finally managed to make full eye contact with Yuri. _Chris was right about his eyes..._

“It's always been like that in skating though. I kind of learned as I got higher up that you can't believe everything you read about people. But yeah there's always been stories about how... some... federations push really hard for things like that...” Yuri stopped himself short of saying a specific country name, knowing how much hot water that could get him into.

“The Russian Federation plays favorites, it's very often obvious. The extra qualifying competitions they do for the lower-levels to fight for a chance at Worlds for example. Basing things on performances at competitions that shouldn't matter. And when they have a star, there tends to be trash talk. It's almost like tradition. I just... don't care for all of that, and I guess I just wanted you to know. Getting thrown into everything like you have can be pretty hard... I'm not so far removed from it myself. I'm just glad you have a good coach that steps up for you.”

Yuri smiled at that. “Yeah... he's great. He's got a lot of different ways to look at things. Some of it is cultural, some of it is from his own experiences. But whatever it all is he's gotten me through a lot. I wouldn't have gotten this far without him. He takes care of me.”

“So much of a skater's success is their rapport with their coach. It's clearly done wonders for you,” Victor smiled.

“Yeah... The next month or so is gonna be crazy, so I'm glad I have him.” Yuri shifted his weight from one foot to the other, feeling the awkward moment coming in the conversation where there wasn't much more to say. _Oh god, what now, what do I say...this is not the time to go all fanboy..._

Victor felt that moment coming too, and read Yuri's body language. Not wanting to end things awkwardly he stepped back with a smile. “Well, I'm glad I finally caught up with you. I guess I'll see you in a couple of weeks in France. Take care, Yuri. And happy birthday, again.”

“Thanks...” Yuri watched Victor turn to leave and for a moment felt frozen in place. Finally, he took a deep breath, feeling his face flush fully, the warmth extending over his ears and down his neck as well.

“V-Victor?”

Victor stopped, only step or two away; there was that flutter again. He turned to look back. “Yes, Yuri?”

“Good luck...”

Victor took the tentatively outstretched hand, his larger one wrapping around Yuri's smaller, almost delicate one as he gave it a gentle shake. “Thank you, Yuri. And good luck to you as well. Have a safe trip home.”

“You too.”

The pair stood that way for a moment, hands still interlocked, eyes similarly locked on each other's. Just before Victor let go, Yuri felt him give his hand a gentle squeeze. Victor stepped back with a soft smile to which he added a wink, then turned to make his way toward Chris who had wandered off to talk to someone back near their table. Yuri watched Victor go, rooted in place, still trying to process what had just happened.

“Oh my _god_ Yuri what did he say??” Phichit's excited tone, a just-barely-tolerable chirpy squeak, broke into his thoughts.

“Huh? Oh... he... apologized for Sochi. Being... seeming... he said he was sorry for being cold. And then we talked a little about the pressure and stuff. And he wished me good luck.”

“See? I told you he wasn't mad at you!”

“I... well I guess I know that now. But yeah that was...”

“He winked at you. He. Winked. At. You.”

“He has pretty eyes.” Yuri blinked. “Oh my god I mean...”

“You mean exactly what you said!” Phichit cried, practically tackling Yuri in a hug. “I think he likes youuuuuu!”

“Phichit _no._ That's not what it was about!”

“I bet it is!”

“No. Just stop it.” Yuri's suddenly terse tone brought Phichit to attention and he backed off.

“Okay okay. But it was nice that he took the time to talk to you.”

“What did you and Chris talk about?”

“Just stuff. Skating. Nothing important,” Phichit said. “He's nice though. I like his accent.”

“That's good. I didn't get a chance to talk to him really. He'll be at the Final though. Anyway, we have a super early wake-up for our flight, we should get going before Ciao Ciao comes looking for us.”

“Yeah, it's winding down here anyway,” Phichit said. “It's already looking kinda empty.”

The pair began to make their way through the patchwork of tables, some of which were already being cleared by the staff as the party continued to thin out. As they emerged near the exit to the banquet hall Yuri paused to talk to one last friend from the Japanese team and as Phichit waited, he looked around and noticed Chris and Victor, with Chris waiting for Victor to finish a conversation of his own. Chris seemed to feel Phichit's eyes on him and looked over, making eye contact.

Chris winked first. Phichit winked back. And both smiled and turned away a second before their companions rejoined them to head back to their respective rooms for the night.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for being a bit late this week! Between Worlds which was a hell of a wild ride, and fibromyalgia making it impossible to type with ouchy hands and foggy brain for a few days, I got a bit behind. Hopefully I'll be back to my Wednesday posting schedule by next week, but no promises! 😆 As always, thanks for reading!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the stress of the Grand Prix Final weighs on the top six skaters to make it in, Victor begins to see the true colors of those close to him that much more clearly. Yuri gets a taste of what it's like to be the one to beat (and the one that people love to hate), and Chris continues to pick up on the growing cracks in Victor's facade.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last week's chapter was a bit rushed, I have to admit. I also wrote it while under the weather with a fibromyalgia flareup, the brain fog from which caused a bit of a mess. I definitely got back to my normal 2-3 days per chapter this week, and hopefully I haven't missed anything this time. That said, I previously promised to make note of any errors pointed out to me that were fixed, so: 
> 
> Thank you to [dkwilliams](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dkwilliams/pseuds/dkwilliams) for pointing out a points tally error in the Grand Prix Final results: Yuri won both golds and Victor both silvers in the two events they were in together, which put them first and second in the standings respectively, not tied. I deleted that line completely from the paragraph where Chris read Victor the results.
> 
> Also, thanks to [Songbirdsara](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Songbirdsara/pseuds/Songbirdsara), who caught that I had missed adding Mickey as the sixth skater going to the Final; the omission has been corrected.

Yuri had found, upon the opening day of practice for his first Grand Prix Final, that it felt different to him than any other competition he'd been a part of so far. At events like Nationals, Four Continents, Worlds and the Olympics, the field was full of skaters, to the point where there was a cutoff number to qualify to even get a spot in the free skate. At events leading up to the Final, there were twelve skaters and two groups, and while that narrowed things down considerably there was always a chance someone in the first group could start their journey to rise up in the ranks as he himself had the previous season.

But the Final was different. It more or less was a preview of sorts for the final group of Worlds, as for the most part the top skaters that were still competing ended up there. Last year, he'd missed out on the Final by a slim margin and had been named the first alternate that would be called upon to take the spot should someone withdraw, but no one did. This year, the only surprise was Otabek Altin, whom Yuri had remembered from Juniors as someone who had just been coming up as Yuri competed in his final Junior season. But for the greater part, Yuri was among the cream of the figure skating crop, where there were at least four skaters who had the capability to win gold. Every competition was unpredictable to some degree, but this one that much more so as the level of skating would likely come down to hundredths of a point between each skater.

And yet, Yuri was still heavily-favored to win. Celestino had been on top of that since the moment Yuri was confirmed to be in the final six, keeping him focused and doing his best to dispel any worries going in. Just because it was his first, didn't mean he absolutely had to win. To focus solely on winning and to push so hard for that one purpose would ultimately sabotage him, and the letdown should he take anything less than gold would be damaging to the progress Yuri had made regarding his mental strength. Instead, they had immediately focused on Yuri skating his absolute best, putting down two performances he could be proud of no matter what the result. Both coach and student knew that would be a different approach from the other skaters from what they were aware of, but Celestino was determined to do what was best for Yuri both mentally and physically.

As such, the media had been disappointed to see that Yuri didn't seem to be upping his game at all. He had stuck to the program that he'd done at NHK in all his practices, and didn't try any new jumps or combinations. There was constant debate on social media regarding what Yuri _should_ be doing, but Celestino had not only warned Yuri to stay away from all of that, he himself had done so as well. When asked about it in a short interview, Celestino simply said that even coaches can be led to second-guess themselves, and that both he and Yuri would continue to trust their instincts and their trust in each other as to how to approach the competition.

It was Yuri's decision to not be social with any of the skaters leading up to the short program, especially not Victor or Chris. Even though his brief conversations with both of them at the NHK banquet had given him some much-needed insight, now was not the time to play nice. Getting too friendly with competition, even at one's home country's Nationals where one knew many of the skaters to some degree, often got into a skater's head and made it more difficult to compete against the rest of the field. As such he'd spent the majority of his time off-ice in his room, or in the gym at the venue working out. To avoid being asked the inevitable questions about yet another “showdown” between himself and Victor, he and Celestino had decided to decline all interviews until after the end of the competition save for the mandatory press conferences, where they'd worked on some neutral answers to the most common questions.

So now, as Yuri stood behind the other five men that were waiting to go onto the ice for the 2014 Grand Prix Final short program in Marseilles, France, he found himself feeling focused and confident. As the call to take the ice for warmup went out he hung back a step or two, waiting until the other five competitors went out before taking to the ice himself.

It was only during the warmup laps, before he started working on jumps, that he took glances at the other men's faces. Otabek was stoic as always, expression unreadable but body language seeming only a bit tight. For a skater in his debut Senior debut season to make it all the way to the Final, even in the sixth and final spot with the least amount of points, was no small accomplishment and it was obvious Otabek was taking it seriously.

Mickey's face was a mix of determined and potentially nervous. It was his first GPF as well, and if Yuri remembered correctly, Mickey would likely be so wound up about it that things could go either way. His sister Sara had made it as well for the ladies' singles so the pair had each other for mutual support, though Yuri was secretly sure that Mickey relied a little too much on his sister and had wondered in the past if that had affected Sara's own skating.

Georgi was all smiles, but Yuri knew that could mean anything. Appearing confident and relaxed could be just as much a tool of intimidation as a stone-face. But it was also telling that the usually happy, slightly-eccentric Russian seemed to switch gears after one full lap around the rink as he passed his coach, with said coach barking something that changed his mood to focused.

Chris had hit the ice with the intention of slaying. Always confident, with a on-ice posture to die for and an inherent sexiness that seemed at times to contradict his all-business competitive mode, Chris was likely the biggest wild card in the competition. He'd landed the quad Lutz once in competition but it was still inconsistent, and his maverick attempt at a quad toe-triple flip hadn't gone well though the gamble had been appreciated by skating aficionados. But that was Chris – always gutsy, always going for broke, because it was a given that he and the final competitor rounding out the slate had made a game of pushing each other, even if Chris was usually pushed back much harder by...

Victor. The Russian Junior phenom come Senior force of nature. He'd had two undefeated seasons coming into the Sochi Olympics, and had been hailed as a potential Living Legend if he could keep his competitors at bay. He'd allowed his streak at Worlds to be broken by withdrawing from this year's event, but he was 2 for 2 at the Grand Prix Final. Victor wore the game face Yuri knew well, the one that made lesser skaters shake in their boots. The legendary Russian countenance, the one where all attackers would be vanquished. This was the Victor Nikiforov that Yuri had come to admire, the one that commanded the ice, the one that would be very difficult to beat.

After appraising his competition Yuri blocked all else out and began to ease into his jumps, first with singles, then doubles, a few divisive triple Axels – it was no secret, even to Yuri, that the skating world hailed his 3A as the standard by that which all others should be measured. It had been his best jump before Celestino, but in his day Yuri's coach had also owned the 3A, and had polished Yuri's until it was so textbook it very often merited nearly the maximum +3 GOE. He'd decided to stay with the easiest of the quads he was capable of, the toe loop, doing two easy standalone ones before one quad toe-triple toe.

The crowd gasped then groaned in sympathy as Otabek stumbled out of an attempted quad Salchow-triple toe attempt; Yuri responded by knocking off a clean 4S+3T of his own. A few moments later, Georgi doubled a triple Axel; Yuri then offered up a back-counter entrance to a perfect 3A of his own, the crowd's response as they caught onto the game a bit more robust. Chris warmed up a triple Lutz but got too close to the boards and flutzed as a result; Yuri nailed one of his own, the edge clean.

“Gentlemen, there is one minute remaining in the warmup.”

Yuri began to wind down, feeling solid and content with his performance, his body and mind locked into place. As he kept close to the boards with a watchful eye for the other men knocking off their final practice jumps, he saw Victor in his peripheral vision at first just to his left side, then flying by as he entered into and nailed his signature quad flip. Yuri did the sportsmanlike thing and applauded; after all, the jump was spectacular. But as Victor glided out of the jump, hands on hips, he raised his head and saw Yuri there.

Blue eyes locked onto brown. This time they were not as kind as the last time Yuri had gazed into them, by a long shot.

 _Let's see you do that,_ the blue eyes said with their laser-focused gaze, from within the Nikiforov-out-for-blood face.

Yuri angled his body into crossovers and began to speed up. He heard the buzz in the crowd as they saw the challenge accepted. _The competition starts here_. Yuri navigated carefully past the men who were now all meandering close to the boards save for Otabek, who was already speaking with his coach as he had drawn first to skate.

Yuri's set up for the flip was almost indistinguishable due to the connecting steps into it as his path brought him right up in front of Victor and his coach Yakov.

“Gentlemen, the warmup has concluded, please leave the ice.”

The announcement was nearly drowned out by the roar of the crowd as Yuri nailed the quad flip just about 15 feet away from Victor, holding out the landing with impeccable posture, hands with delicately-flared fingers, free leg with a gracefully-pointed toe.

As blue eyes locked with brown, the challenge answered as Yuri held the landing position with impeccable grace as the runout of the jump arced backwards on his outside edge, the flutter in Victor's chest turned into the feel of a pounding heart knocking loudly against the wall of his chest.

Once again Yuri waited until the rest of the men stepped off the ice before taking his blade guards from Celestino and leaving the ice to put them on. Once they were on he turned around to bow to the ice with a dip of his head and shoulders, a habit instilled in him by his former childhood coach. _Respect the ice, for you can control what you do upon it, but in the end, it still controls you._ The pair then headed backstage, with Yuri keeping his boots tied this time as he was third to skate.

“Well, someone's ready to kick the asses of the big boys,” Celestino grinned. “Nice game of one-up. If there was ever a time for a show of confidence, it was definitely now. Well played.”

Yuri smirked as he snapped the cap down on his water bottle. “It just kind of happened. Something grabbed me, I don't really know what.”

“That's okay,” Celestino nodded. “But. Don't get cocky Skywalker. Just because you nailed it all in the warmup doesn't mean it carries over. You have to be careful not to leave it all on the ice. I get that you ran with the adrenaline and that's fine, but let's be careful going forward about that. You skate pretty soon though, so I think you can harness that energy before it fades.”

Yuri nodded, realizing immediately that Celestino was right; he'd let his competitive head get the best of him. “I'm –”

“Ah! No sorry! You have nothing to be sorry about. You threw down the gauntlet and it's exactly what you needed to do. It's all good,” Celestino cut in. “Now just keep that charge on full. Think about what made you throw down and use it to fuel you.”

Yuri drew within for a few moments, remembering a pair of brightly-burning blue eyes that were just barely hiding the thrill of being challenged so boldly in front of the world, and smiled.

“Got it,” he replied, just as the volunteer came up to them to summon the pair to the rinkside warmup area. They followed her until she paused to pull back the curtain then emerged into the rink, where Georgi was about halfway through his short. Yuri did a few final stretches to his legs and back, facing away from the rink. He had no desire or need to see Georgi's performance, though a slight groan from the crowd meant he'd made some kind of error, likely in his final jumping pass which was a planned quad toe-triple loop. It was a combination that was a staple in the Popovich arsenal, but a gamble with 45 seconds left in his program.

As Georgi's music ended Yuri turned toward the rink, pulling off his Team Japan jacket and handing it to Celestino, with his blade guards following after. Once the flower kids cleared the few gifts thrown to the ice Yuri was given the all-clear and he took off at a quick pace, finding his legs still mostly warmed up. He got up to full flexibility quickly, his boots feeling good and feet solidly under him. He stayed near to the boards so that when the announcer called “the marks please” he was close enough to head over to Celestino to speak with him by way of not paying attention to Georgi's score.

“Give 'em hell kid. We know what you can do, and you showed everyone you mean business just a little bit ago. Let's do this!” Celestino grinned. Yuri high-fived him in return, slapped the top edge of the boards with both hands, and spun around to glide to center ice amidst the roar of the crowd in response to his introduction.

Celestino had talked with Yuri more than once about what he liked to call “skaters' high”; the energy that happened when everything was dialed in and locked into place. Yuri himself had been certain he had never experienced that... until this moment. He almost felt like his body wasn't his own. He had become more and more settled into this program the more he skated it and he moved through it with meticulous ease, his well-known stamina taking over. Quad flip, triple Axel with twizzle entrance, quad Salchow-triple toe loop. His blades hit their landing edges securely, his extension, posture and line on the runout of each jumping pass impeccable. He had always been secure in his spins and footwork and had been working on both to raise their levels. Before he knew it he was striking his ending pose, holding it for five seconds (“I don't care how good it was, you finish what you started!” Celestino had always emphasized) before he let out a yell and pumped his fist. As Yuri turned to bow to each side of the arena in turn he caught flashes of Celestino applauding with gusto and even more so as Yuri made his way toward his coach and off the ice.

“I knew you were ready to throw down but damn buddy! That was a hell of a skate!” Celestino grinned as they sat down in the Kiss & Cry. “I think this is going to be tough to beat.”

“Well I hope so, but you never know with who is still to come,” Yuri reminded him.

“True, true. But if anyone doubted you mean business, they got a wake up call just now,” Cialdini replied.

Backstage, both Otabek and Georgi were shaking their heads in the TV lounge as Yuri's new World Record short program score, also a new season's best for him, came up on the screen.

“He's strong,” Otabek noted. “He just keeps improving with every competition.”

“Well the reigning two-time Grand Prix Final Champion is still to skate. We'll see how long this holds up,” Georgi replied. “If Victor skates clean his program will put him five points ahead of Katsuki easily.”

Otabek chose not to reply, instead appraising Georgi with a slight side-eye. He'd seen Victor's planned content, as all skaters were required to file their program elements with officials who then posted it on the ISU website. It was thus common knowledge that Victor's and Yuri's content as far as TES was pretty evenly matched to within a point, and the better skater would likely be determined by the component scores. With one last furrowed brow Otabek then turned his attention to the screen, where Mickey was taking his starting pose.

Yuri finished up his sound-bite interviews and headed over to the TV lounge just as Mickey finished his performance. Otabek, currently the second-place skater, nodded and reached over to shake Yuri's hand once he'd sat; when Yuri turned to current third-place skater Georgi to acknowledge him, he received only a curt nod in return. Mickey had ended up missing his combination completely and was placed fourth out of four skaters as the cameras then switched to Victor, who after a few circles around center ice, skidded to a stop and struck his opening pose.

None of the three men seated before the screen were taken aback when Victor skated cleanly, especially not Yuri. The lines, the posture, the lightning-fast footwork and spins, the rock-solid, secure landings were all the things that Yuri had admired about Victor's skating. After their two Grand Prix events, Yuri had gone back to watch all of Victor's programs and he had to admit that compared to his GP events, this was the best the Russian had looked so far this season. He may have gotten a slow start (according to the skating media anyway, though Yuri would hardly call it that), but Victor always knew how to lay down the goods when it counted most.

When somehow, inexplicably, Victor's component scores were five points lower than Yuri's putting him in second place however, Yuri was given a bit of attitude by Victor's training mate. Georgi openly scoffed as he rose to give up his third-place seat to Otabek, leading the Kazakh skater to frown as the Russian stalked away, muttering something about judges being paid by the JSF just loud enough for Yuri to hear.

“Don't pay attention to him,” Otabek said, his usually-stoic expression darkening a bit more as his brows furrowed in disapproval. “Bad sportsmanship.”

Yuri shrugged. “Russian trash talk. It happened in Juniors a lot, though I gotta say it's surprising coming from him.”

Otabek nodded in agreement, then turned his attention back to the screen where Chris was beginning his program. Both men sat forward in their seats as Chris set up for a planned attempt at the quad Lutz, and Yuri let out a whoop as the Swiss skater landed it, albeit with a wildly-swinging free leg that he somehow turned into a twizzle. The scores showed that the judges hadn't bought the attempt at covering the mistake with a bit of a docking on GOE, though the final result was still scored a bit higher than Yuri expected.

“I bet they call that under. He landed too weird for that to be clean,” Otabek said as he kept his focus on the screen.

“You think? It looked good to me, just with a messy landing,” Yuri said as Chris knocked off his quad toe loop with ease, then leaped up into his trademark gravity-defying flying sit spin. Just then Victor came in to claim his second place seat, remaining quiet as he watched the end of Chris' program. The Swiss skater went on to land his triple Axel-triple toe loop right near the end of the program, grabbing the extra 10 percent credit for a jumping pass in the second half of the program on top of a +2 GOE to cap off an exceptional performance. Regardless of the exit on the quad Lutz Chris seemed quite happy, fistpumping before he began to take his bows.

“Did he hit the quad Lutz?” Victor asked, eyes on the screen.

“He got all the rotations for sure, but it wasn't clear if the edge was clean. His free leg was wild,” Yuri said, nodding to Otabek in deference to the other's earlier observance. “He didn't get as high of a GOE as at NHK on it.”

Victor murmured a soft “shit” at that just as the replays of Chris' elements began. All three men leaned in as they showed a replay first of the quad Lutz from a different angle than before, then a zoom onto Chris' landing blade; both Yuri and Victor both let out a “yes!” simultaneously as the close-up showed the edge as clearly clean while Otabek raised his eyebrows in surprise. A few moments later the marks came up and Chris was placed in third, his component scores lower than his technical by just enough of a margin that he sat three points below Victor.

Otabek rose then, pausing to shake both men's hands then took his leave as the final standings for the short came up on the screen. Yuri followed suit, trying to stave off the awkward feeling that had threatened to take over when Victor hadn't really acknowledged either skater upon entering the lounge. Without Otabek for a buffer (not that the quiet Kazakh was any help; he spoke very little and when he did it was always quite direct) Yuri wasn't sure if he should attempt to speak to Victor or not. Considering their faceoff in the warmup, Victor might not be feeling too fond of Yuri at the moment...

Victor had just finished rising and making sure he was steady on his hardguards when he looked up in time to see Yuri's back as he left the lounge. Blinking in surprise – he'd at least intended to congratulate him without the cameras on them, as the cameraman for the lounge had left once the competition concluded – Victor made his way out of the room and to the area where the top three after the short were set to do their photo op and press conference. Just as Victor made note of Yuri off to one side talking with Celestino as the media got situated, he felt the familiar sharp poke on his shoulder and turned to face a typically-scowling Yakov.

“However this ends, I'm putting in a grievance over those marks. There is no way your presentation should be lower than him,” Yakov growled.

“You'll do nothing of the sort. We both know his musicality is perfection and not something that's learned,” Victor retorted. “And I'm not going to debate this with you here when there's plenty of people who will pick it up and run with it. Unless of course, that's your plan.”

Victor had to admit he derived more than a bit of satisfaction over the fact that Yakov backed down, especially when he noticed that their conversation, despite being in Russian, had already grabbed the attention of a few of the foreign members of the press. He then noticed Georgi going by, already out of his costume and in his team gear, on his way to the shuttle bus. Victor knew Georgi long enough to recognize when his training mate was angry about something, and considering he was now in fifth place, it was understandable.

What he didn't expect was, after a Russian reporter said something to his and Georgi's mutual coach, for Yakov to suddenly head off after his other skater, stopping him from leaving and questioning him. With a glance verifying the media wasn't quite ready yet for the press conference Victor made his way over to the pair to see what was up.

“...would you say something like that where the cameras could hear?” Yakov was growling in Russian, in a tone that meant Georgi was already on his shit list. Not a good way to go into the free program, but Victor had to admit he welcomed having a bit of heat off of himself for the moment.

“What's the problem?” Victor asked, switching to Russian as well.

“This fucking idiot said something that is being construed as an allegation against the JSF. The camera in the TV lounge caught him saying that the Japanese Federation is paying the judges to hold up Katsuki. If you're going to say that shit make sure the cameras aren't rolling!”

Victor burst out laughing at that, causing both Georgi and Yakov to look at him aghast.

“Aren't... aren't you being more than a little hypocritical right now?” Victor guffawed. “After I just had to tell you to keep your own thoughts to yourself in front of the media?”

Yakov's darkening scowl told Victor he was likely right back into the hot water he'd only just climbed out of, but somehow he really didn't care. If he was going to burn, at least it was rightfully so. Just then the call for the top three skaters went out as the media signaled that they were ready for the press conference, and Victor flashed Georgi and Yakov a huge grin before turning and heading over to the where the media waited.

 

 

“We have absolutely no reason to believe what was said and quite honestly, if you can't take the word of both the JSF and the RSF on it that it was a completely false claim, I don't know what to tell you. And clearly my skater has no need of such things. So that's my final word on the subject.”

Celestino couldn't be more angry at the moment. After the footage of Georgi's off-the-cuff remark was “leaked” online, the skating world had had its way with the information at hand. Cialdini had been doing his best to shield Yuri from the controversy that he obviously had no part in and that didn't even exist, but finally after he'd woken up to 100 messages on his phone, he'd honored a request to appear before the media to say his piece. If anything had rankled him more, it was the fact that Yakov Feltsman had not done the same; he'd been requested to also appear at the press meeting, but had declined. In Celestino's mind that didn't exactly put a final stamp on things. He had to wonder if Feltsman was one of those “any press is good press” types. Throughout his skating and coaching careers Celestino had heard a lot about the Russian coach, and not all of it good, which made him wary of whatever action Yakov took in response to the controversy.

He arrived in the warmup zone of the backstage area just in time to see Yuri lacing up for the men's long program practice and sat down next to him, waiting patiently as Yuri whipped through securing his boots.

“Okay Speedy Gonzalez I see you,” Ciao Ciao smiled, making Yuri smile as well as he sat upright.

“How did it go?” Yuri asked.

“I gave them the statement I showed you and got the hell out of there. I'm not taking a million variations of the same question. If Popovich wants to be a troublemaker, he can do it without us. I don't think he's done himself any favors though.”

“Did Coach Feltsman show up?”

“Nope. I didn't expect it to be honest. From what I know of him from over the years, he'll just let this stew and snap back on the skater. That's how he works. You reap what you sow basically. I don't think Georgi's going to have too great of a time of things for the rest of this competition.”

“I don't even know why he'd say such a thing, even if he wasn't serious,” Yuri said, shaking his head in disbelief.

“Because if there's one thing Russian skaters love it's trash talk. 99.9 percent of the time all it's meant to do is rile up opponents so there's more fire in them. It ultimately means nothing. The biggest culprits were back in my day, when Russians were The Soviets and a lot more scary to the rest of the world. It's all bluster. Don't let it get to you.”

Yuri nodded and stood up, walking over to lean on the wall to stretch out his back. “I'm just gonna do my job and skate my best. It's all I can do.”

“Atta boy,” Celestino smiled as he checked the time. “You got about 15 before they call your group out, the Zamboni's doing a run now. I'm gonna grab a coffee. You good till I get back?”

Yuri paused and looked over his shoulder with a smile. “I'm fine, thanks. Oh you know what, can you grab me a bottle of whatever sports drink they have?”

“Blue whatever, comin' up!” Celestino winked, giving Yuri a pat on the shoulder before he headed to the snack vendors' area.

Yuri continued to stretch from shoulders down, finally concentrating on his hips with wide pendulum swings of his legs to open them up. He felt someone over to his right but kept staring at the wall, his earbuds playing one of the songs in his warmup playlist until a shadow that definitely wasn't Celestino's cast over the wall next to him, the person's presence close by. Assuming it was a volunteer trying to get his attention he turned to look over his shoulder and found himself face to face with Victor. Yuri pulled his earbuds out, tucking them into the zippered front of his jacket.

“Hi. Um. Listen I... for what it's worth, I'm extremely pissed off about what's happened,” Victor said, his tone apologetic. “I honestly thought it was a joke at first, until I found out it actually wasn't and I've been livid since. And I just... I don't want it to affect your performance. It's all bullshit and I don't know why Georgi pulled what he did but... yeah.” He finished with a heavy sigh, running fingers through his bangs and ending with the heel of his palm resting on his forehead.

“Coach C said the same thing, that it's all talk. I'm not worried about it because I know the truth. The JSF wouldn't do that. Besides, they don't need to,” Yuri said. _Oh god did I just say that..._

“No. They don't. They have a perfectly fine contender that can more than hold his own. You and I both know that,” Victor said. “Just... Give me your best. Because when it comes down to it the fight for the gold is between you and me. Let's just not make it easy for each other, and the rest of it be damned,” Victor said.

“Sounds good,” Yuri nodded. “But I'd have been disappointed if I got anything less from you.” _Where the hell is this coming from why am I saying these things..._

“I can say the same,” Victor smiled, adding in a wink. “See you out there.”

Yuri looked up at the digital clock on the wall, then down the corridor that Victor was headed, where the curtains over the doorway to the ice were drawn back. The Zamboni was on its last pass, and the volunteers were rounding up the skaters. Yuri tucked his phone and earbuds into one of his pockets, gave his back one last stretch, and turned toward the opening to the ice just as Celestino returned.

“I saw Nikiforov talking to you but I couldn't get back quick enough. Someone stopped me along the way,” Celestino said as he handed Yuri the bottle of sports drink he'd requested. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, it's fine. He was apologizing for everything. But it's not his fault.”

“It's his coach though, so I can see why he'd feel that way. But it was good of him to clear the air. I was thinking the opposite was happening.”

“No, I... after talking with him at NHK I don't think he's like that. There's always been rumors, but he also never takes any crap from people, so that could be where it comes from.”

The duo looked over as the volunteer came over to inform them that the ice was ready.

“Anyway. Forget about that. Let's get to work,” Celestino said.

Yuri walked out to the holding area at rinkside, where Victor was near the boards doing a final stretch, Mickey and Otabek stood bouncing in place just behind him, and Chris was stretching his arms out a bit more. At first Yuri thought Georgi wasn't there, but then noticed him off to the side talking to Yakov. As everyone was called out Yuri pulled off his guards and handed them to Celestino, taking off with a bit more speed than normal as he felt the need to blow off a bit of steam.

The program runthroughs were in order of the free skate draw, so Georgi was first. As per usual on a practice that was close to competition Georgi marked out just about all of his jumps, focusing instead on his other elements. Yuri kept off to the side, choosing a corner near to Celestino to work on his spin sequences.

As Georgi finished Yuri began to skate out toward center ice for his own runthrough as he'd drawn second to skate, giving the Russian a wide berth. Over to Yuri's right Victor had been working on a triple loop but had paused; if Yuri didn't know better, he'd have thought Victor was keeping an eye on Georgi. Yuri continued in a wide circle, waiting for Georgi to move out of the way so he could take his starting pose, then began to draw in closer as the other skater moved off. Suddenly Georgi swerved in on a deep edge that just so happened to cause Popovich's shoulder to smack into Katsuki's before the Japanese skater could veer out of the way.

Victor watched as Yuri spun a half-turn before he caught his footing, then breathed a sigh of relief as he seemed to be okay. Georgi continued his exaggerated meandering with one leg out in front of him, acting for all the world as if he hadn't just broken skater etiquette and deliberately crossed Yuri's path as he got into position for his runthrough. When a glance over to his left showed Yakov not reacting to this whatsoever it was Victor that then crossed Georgi's path, pulling him out of his clearly deliberate “edgework” with a yank on his arm.

“What is your problem?” Victor snapped “Pay attention! Or did you mean to do that?”

“I didn't feel a thing, what are you talking about?” Georgi sniffed.

“You'd better apologize to Yuri and his coach,” Victor growled. “You're not helping your own case right now. How kind do you think the judges are going to be later when word of this gets out? Because it will. It's probably already being uploaded to the internet as we speak.”

Georgi was about to reply when they heard Yakov's angry bark over Yuri's program music. Both men headed toward their coach, with Victor casting a wary eye for Yuri's position as they moved. Katsuki seemed fine, even doing double and triples rather than completely marking out the jumping passes, much to Victor's relief.

“What the fuck is going on?” Yakov growled.

“Please tell me you saw what he did to Katsuki,” Victor said. “Or are you blind now too?”

“I saw it. I'm asking _you_ what the fuck that was,” Yakov said, jabbing a finger into Georgi's chest. “If you thought that looked like an accident, I've got news for you: You're a horrible actor. You've done your runthrough, get off the ice.”

Georgi blinked at that. “What? I have 20 minutes left, and it's the practice before the long.”

“Trust me, after this stunt you pulled, you're likely to be dead last no matter what happens. So it doesn't matter. You're done, _get off the ice_ ,” Yakov snapped, thrusting Georgi's blade guards at him, then pointing to the gate at the Kiss & Cry. Georgi began to head off as Yuri's runthrough finished, muttering something neither Victor nor Yakov could hear.

“Get back to practice,” Yakov barked at Victor, who was more than happy to comply. As he sped up and angled into slow crossovers he caught sight of Yuri, who had picked a patch of ice to work on jumps. Slowing down, he glided close as Katsuki landed one of his gorgeous triple Axels.

“Are you all right?” Victor asked him, still moving slowly.

Yuri looked up from where he had been examining the track of his landing blade. “Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I've fallen harder on it than that. I just got startled is all.”

“If he doesn't apologize later, let me know okay?” Victor replied.

“Eh, it's whatever. I'm fine,” Yuri said, his tone distracted, which Victor took as a sign to move on and did so. He continued one more lap of lazy crossovers, making note of Yuri landing two more triple Axels, one in combination with a triple toe loop, before he finally felt convinced the collision hadn't done any damage.

And as he continued with his own practice, Victor felt yet another tendril of doubt about the situation and the people close to him. He tucked it away in lieu of the business at hand, along with the others he'd been collecting since the Olympics. He knew at some point they would all tie together but for now, he'd set aside the tangled mess to do his job.

 

 

“I'm just gonna start calling you The Terminator. I'm even getting to the point where I don't know what kind of monster I've created!”

Celestino hugged Yuri, adding in a hearty pat on the back as his skater left the ice after putting down the most solid free program of the season thus far. Yuri had once again gone clean, and his coach couldn't be more proud.

“I hit it again, that 'skating high',” Yuri said. “I just hope I'm not peaking too soon, we still have a lot of the season to go.”

“Eh, you're not gonna need this kind of overdrive again till Worlds. If you're gonna have a mid-season spike, let it be here,” Celestino said as they watched the replays of Yuri's program. “Wooooo that quad flip was preeetyyy,” Celestino grinned as the video showed a closeup of Yuri's landing blade. “You stuck that better than a gymnast.”

“I think I've finally got the rhythm down fully,” Yuri agreed. “But then again I was in the zone for this whole thing. I'm gonna have to watch it back to remember it!” The pair then looked up as the marks were announced, putting Yuri solidly in the lead with a new World Record free skate score and World Record overall score, both of which were obviously season's bests.

“The one thing we have to focus on now is not stressing over trying to top this. You've got your mojo risin' and that's fine, but you're gonna ebb and flow. Take this as a milestone, not a hurdle to get over,” Celestino said as they headed backstage where Yuri went into the mixed zone for interviews as Mickey began his free skate.

Victor usually didn't pay attention to the skaters before him, but this time he'd combined watching the screen just off to the left of the gym area with his pacing in his guarded blades. Georgi had pretty much bombed his free skate, with only three of his eight jumping passes clean. While he hadn't fallen he'd either stumbled out of or popped just about everything. Victor wasn't even thinking about the fact that there was one less competitor to deal with, but rather that Georgi had sabotaged himself. Ego was something that always managed to bite one in the ass, which was why Victor had done his best to not let it into his athletic life.

But Yuri. Victor had actually stopped his pacing to watch after the first 30 seconds of Yuri's program, because even he could feel the energy. At this point in the season most skaters were settled into their programs fairly well, with sometimes up to four performances of them if their season included smaller B-level competitions that were used as warmup events to their main ones. Yuri had done the Canadian event in the inaugural Challenger Series back in the fall, a competition that had served as a test event for his new programs, which he'd won handily even with a couple of tripled quads that were due to nothing more than the early season rust being dusted off.

So in his fourth performance of both of his programs, it was no surprise Katsuki was in the pocket and on top of his game. Victor recognized greatness when he saw it in others, even if he didn't always recognize it in himself... and Yuri was _great._ More than likely on the way to being one of _the_ greats. He was proving the meteoric rise that had begun with the Olympics was no fluke. Victor had once been called that type of “one in a generation” skater whose name was in the history books, but if that was truly the case he was already convinced that Yuri's name would be right beside his own.

As Mickey finished and Chris began Victor made his way to the holding area at rinkside. He'd drawn second-last to skate which was fine by him; after the drama that had happened all week he was happy to not add to it by being the one to cause the nail-biting finish. And besides, though he had every intention of throwing down his best program, he knew that more than likely Katsuki was already golden – which, if he had to be honest, he was fine with as well.

Another thing he was quite fine with was watching his best friend land the third quad Lutz he'd done in competition, right in the corner near where Victor was standing. The edge was clean and true with no flutz to be found, with far more confidence in the landing though Chris still needed to get control of his free leg a bit more. Even so, it was much better than the one he'd landed in the short and Victor applauded and grinned. No matter where Chris ended up placing, they'd definitely celebrate this competition at the banquet as the Swiss skater became the only man who currently had a competition-viable quad Lutz.

Backstage Yuri had been sitting in the TV lounge with Mickey (Georgi, it seemed, had been tied up with interviews and had not yet appeared, or so the volunteer had told the cameraman) and the pair applauded Chris' Lutz, then again at the end of Chris' clean program which ultimately put him in second below Yuri and prompted Mickey to move to the third place seat.

“Giacometti has sure upped his game this season,” Mickey said. “Who knew he'd be the first to land a quad Lutz? I thought if anyone did that it would be you.”

Yuri had to laugh at that. “Oh god no, I just managed to finally start landing the flip! If anything I'll be trying for the quad loop next, starting in the off-season.”

The pair's attention turned then to Victor's image on the screen, whose face was knitted into a determined, focused scowl as he began his free skate. Yuri and Mickey both leaned forward in their seats as the first jumping pass neared; on paper, it was yet another quad loop. The entry looked good and fast, but as Victor pushed up into the jump Yuri could see he the angle of his body had him rotating just outside the circle; only a skater of Victor's experience could have saved the jump, turning it into a triple with a bit of a shaky landing.

“Ah yes, Cat-blade Nikiforov,” Mickey said. “How the fuck does he always do that??”

“I don't know but I gotta figure it out,” Yuri said. “He's always been amazing at saving off-circle jumps.”

If Victor was thinking on his feet, it wasn't showing. He continued on through the program, knocking off elements perfectly with seemingly no more issues. As the halfway-point of the program passed both Yuri and Mickey watched with much interest (and Yuri holding his breath) as the slot where Victor had planned a triple loop came up. It was against the rules to repeat a triple jump unless it was in combination, so Victor would either have to combine it and change the layout of his other combinations, or...

“Holy _shit_ did that just happen?” Mickey said, eyes wide.

“Uhh... yeah, he just landed a quad loop after the halfway mark,” Yuri said in amazement. “Though it looks like it might be under review because the landing was kind of iffy.”

“He got the rotations though. Holy shit,” Mickey said. “He obviously isn't done surprising the hell out of people.”

“No,” Yuri said with a smile filled with admiration, “definitely not.”

Both Yuri and Mickey applauded (which was really for the camera that was watching them) as Victor finished his performance with a fistpump, his face finally fading from focused to a huge grin as he took his bows. He waved to the crowd a bit more before he came in to the gate, where Yakov waited with his blade guards.

“Good thing you tripled that first loop, but that was a death wish trying the quad loop after the half way point,” Yakov griped as they sat down. “If you'd tripled it you'd have been hit with a deduction for a repeat _and_ lost base value points on top of lost GOE.”

“At least I wasn't a human Zamboni like your other skater,” Victor snapped, a retort for which Yakov had no reply.

When the marks came up however, it seemed that the gamble had paid off. Both Victor and Yakov's eyes went wide when Victor's score in the free skate actually beat Yuri's by three points, setting a new World Record as both his technical and presentation scores had gone up from what they'd been in the short, putting him in second place by just two points when the two segments were combined.

Victor knew in his gut that he hadn't improved _that_ much between yesterday and today, and once the cameras had switched to center ice he rose and quickly took his leave to the backstage area, not even waiting for Yakov. It felt like the judges had boosted Victor on top of giving Georgi lower scores than he'd actually warranted even with the terrible performance, and Victor didn't like the uneasy feeling it gave him. Even though Yuri would win as he rightfully should, he knew with his two shaky loop landings that the scores should not be as close as they were.

Otabek had the unfortunate luck of being last to skate after Victor but held his own, laying down a solid free program that ultimately placed him fourth, with the final standings in descending order being Katsuki, Nikiforov, Giacometti, Altin, Crispino and Popovich. Victor wasn't surprised that Georgi had left the building before the rest of the field had even skated, and inwardly hoped that his training mate had learned a valuable lesson about sportsmanlike conduct from his Grand Prix Final experience.

The medal ceremony was a fun affair, with Victor determined to make it much more pleasant than when the same three men in the same three places had celebrated their Olympic results. Yuri found himself flanked by the two longtime best friends as they made their way around the rink, pausing for photo calls in between accepting the random gifts from fans and posing for selfies. One fan even gave each of them a flower crown and Yuri found himself laughing so hard he nearly lost his breath as Victor and Chris hammed it up once they'd put them on.

As the trio came off of the ice, Yuri found the memory of the tense Olympic podium experience softened considerably, and for that he was quite grateful. It was a big relief to know that Victor wasn't the scary Russian that prior interaction had led him to believe – in fact, this time both Victor and Chris had been nudging Yuri forward, encouraging him to take his moments in the spotlight and to soak up the adoration of the fans. As he sat down to change from his skates into sneakers for the press conference he saw another pair of running shoes drop down next to him, and looked up to see Victor sitting down.

“How are you feeling?” Victor asked as he reached down to unlace.

“Good. Tired. Wishing we didn't have to do the press conference, because I'm sure there will be some snark handed out,” Yuri said as he pulled off his own boots, grabbing a towel to wipe them down.

“I'll step in if you need it. I'm fully expecting some baited questions, especially from the Russian media. But you also don't have to answer anything you don't want to. Just because we're there doesn't mean we're obligated to respond to everything,” Victor replied.

“I know. I haven't gotten really good at handling stuff like this yet. I didn't do a lot of podium conferences before I started training in Detroit. At least, not ones that were seen around the world. So much of this is so new to me, and I'm just not really used to it yet.”

“I don't know that you ever really do get used to it,” Victor said, putting the soakers on his blades and setting the skates down on the bench next to him to air out.

“Don't listen to him, it's very easy to get used to being a superstar,” Chris' voice chimed in as he made his way over to the bench, evoking a smile from Yuri and a fake scowl from Victor.

“So what's this I hear that you're not staying for the banquet?” Chris asked Yuri, at which Victor stopped what he was doing and looked over at Katsuki. “I overheard your coach telling mine that you have to leave.”

“Oh, I'll be there, I just can't stay extra late. We'll probably leave after the formal stuff. I have some sponsor events I have to do in Japan and also have to get right back at it for Nationals in like... by the time we get there I'll have about eight days to get ready. At least I'll be training at my home rink in Hasetsu, because it really doesn't make sense to fly all the way home to Detroit just to turn around and come right back. So we have a long haul to the airport and an early flight, and it's a pretty long one too. This month is insane, and my coach even has to miss the Christmas holidays in Detroit,” Yuri explained.

“Aww, that's too bad. I was hoping we could get in some trouble... I mean, have some fun,” Chris said, noting the sullen look on Victor's face. “I guess we'll have to wait until Worlds.”

Victor blinked at that, then went over his schedule in his head. There was indeed nothing else that he and Yuri would be in at the same time before Worlds, with his own schedule including Russian Nationals and Europeans. Yakov would likely send Georgi to any of the myriad of other smaller competitions that were not specifically ISU championships.

“Well... that will make the rest of the season rather boring,” Chris said. “Victor will be able to win golds in his sleep until then.”

Victor sat upright, about to counter Chris' words when he realized his friend was more than likely right. Save for Chris and Georgi and one, possibly two other potential challengers at Nationals and Euros, there would be nothing to really cause the Russian any concern as far as competition.

“Well then, at least I'll get a break,” Victor finally said, smiling playfully.

“I'm sure you won't have any problems kicking their butts,” Yuri said; it took a great effort for Victor to not grin fully at the flush that played over Yuri's face as he then hurriedly looked down, making a show of taking the soakers off his blades and putting the hardguards on.

“We'll just have to make up for it in Shanghai in March,” Chris smiled. Just then, one of the volunteers came over to tell them the press conference would be starting soon. Yuri finished putting on his sneakers and rose, gathering up his skates.

“Well I gotta put these away,” Yuri said, the sudden nervousness evident in his voice; Victor noticed the bit of relief that crossed Katsuki's face as Celestino came looking for him. “See you in a few minutes.”

Both Chris and Victor watched Yuri hurry off, with Celestino taking his skates from him and detouring to the locker room to take care of them as Yuri was guided by the volunteer to the press conference room.

“I suppose there's a kink in your plans now,” Chris said to Victor, his tone teasing. “I guess I'll be able to stay in our room tomorrow night.”

Victor's expression was a mixture of aghast and offended. “Chris! I don't even know him, will you stop that?”

“Ooooh, touchy touchy,” Chris smirked as the pair headed to the locker room to pack up their skates as well. “But there was no hiding the disappointment on your face about the banquet.”

“Well of course. I'd hoped to finally get a chance to really talk with him. Which, by the way, thanks for interrupting,” Victor said bitterly. “He's much more comfortable one on one.”

“Sorry, mon ami. I was just trying to help.”

“Come on. I'm tired and I just want to get this over with so I can sleep,” Victor replied, shoving his skates in his bag and securing it in his locker.

“Fine, fine,” Chris said. “But you might want to put on a smile, or the media will think you're utterly distraught about Yuri winning and you'll have another scandal on your hands.”

“At this point, no matter what I do, he and I are going to be pitted against each other. All I can do is make sure he knows I'm his friend, not his enemy. Fuck what the world thinks,” Victor replied, his pace quickening and taking him a few steps ahead of Chris as they headed to the conference room.

As Chris followed behind, he couldn't help but notice that Victor seemed uncharacteristically unhappy. It left Chris with an uneasy feeling and he made a mental note to keep an eye on his closest friend all the more, even while they'd be in touch long distance for the majority of the time between now and Worlds, excluding Europeans. Something had changed within Victor since the Olympics, and Chris was determined to find out what it was before there was damage done that couldn't be repaired.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I've read this chapter over a total of four times. Crossing fingers that everything's good! 😆 I usually prefer to post a lot earlier in the day, but at least I'm back to my Wednesdays (for now). Thanks again to everyone for reading, taking the time to comment, and sending kudos. 🙏🏻


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the pressure and scrutiny of Worlds closes in on defending champion Yuri, a strange and unforeseen event drives a wedge between Victor and him.

Celestino had been awakened much too early by many skating-related things in his career, but the text from Phichit, Yuri's roommate at Worlds, that roused him at 12:30 am Shanghai, China time was definitely a first. He almost didn't acknowledge the text tone he'd assigned to the Thai skater, but when it pinged three times in less than a minute, he sat up and grabbed his phone.

 **Phichit:** Coach! A rep from the JSF and the ISU just knocked on the door

 **Phichit:** They just told Yuri to get dressed and come with them

 **Phichit:** It's a random doping test? They're taking him to the doping lab

Celestino jumped out of bed, threw on clothes and accreditation lanyards as quickly as he could, and ran out into the hallway just in time to see Yuri being escorted to the elevators.

“Hey! Hold up! Where are you going with my skater?” Celestino yelled, jogging down the hallway to catch up, making the trip in just a few long strides.

“There has been an anonymous accusation of Katsuki allegedly doping,” the ISU rep replied.

Celestino knew for a fact that Yuri would never have knowingly done anything wrong in that vein; the confused, worried look on Yuri's face was one the coach knew well. It was the one that said “I have no idea what's going on right now, help me” – one that he'd hated seeing on the skater's face, and one that he'd gone out of his way to help Yuri erase.

“The athlete is allowed one approved associate to be present,” the rep continued, turning to Yuri. “Do you approve this person to accompany you?”

“Yes, this is my coach,” Yuri replied.

“Please follow us,” the JSF rep said, casting both Yuri and Celestino a look as the ISU rep turned to punch the elevator button that said “I'm sorry, I don't know either.”

Downstairs a car was waiting to take the group to the doping lab on site at the World Championships venue, which also seemed very strange to the coach. Though such random tests were not completely uncommon they usually took place at the end of a competition, with a pre-posted list of those who had been selected – those were par for the course and without accusation attached. The last time Celestino had heard of such a thing as late night tests happening had been at the [Olympics in Sochi](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/olympics/alleged-pact-between-us-and-russian-judges-would-shut-canada-out-of-figure-skating-gold/article16762373/), with two Canadian skaters...

_God dammit. Fucking leave Yuri alone, Feltsman. If I find out you had anything to do with this..._

Upon arriving Celestino noticed that the staff also looked as if they'd been roused from sleep, further making him wonder if something strange was afoot. Yuri had been selected randomly for after-competition doping exactly once in his entire career, but that was expected; all skaters knew they were subject to it at the end of a competition. But this was a bit over the top, and Celestino intended to look into it come the morning – if the Internet hadn't already gotten hold of it.

Doping tests were unnerving and even a bit humiliating. Celestino remembered well the few times over his career he'd been randomly tested and had joked in the past with Yuri and Phichit about getting “stagefright” and being unable to pee while being watched by a stranger until someone turned on the sink for him. At least he was allowed to be present for Yuri, even if he did make sure to look away to afford his skater some kind of dignity even if the man monitoring the creation of the sample closely could not. Once that part was over he walked back out with Yuri to the holding area to wait for the results.

“I swear I haven't done anything, I don't know why this is happening,” Yuri said, his voice shaky.

“I know that, and so do you. The only thing I can think of is someone decided to fuck around to get into your head. But we're not going to let that happen. Somebody's obviously threatened and trying to bully you and I won't let it stand.”

“I wonder if they'll do this again after the competition too.”

“I doubt it, not when you come up clean. But I hope they figure out who the coward was that pulled this shit.”

Just then, the lab technician and the ISU and JSF reps emerged from the testing room.

“Your test results came back negative, you are certified clean,” the ISU rep said. “You are free to go.”

“I didn't expect anything else, personally,” Celestino said. “I hope you are going to look into who logged this obviously false accusation.”

“We have no way to tell,” the ISU rep replied, his tone short. “You are free to go.”

“It's fine. Let's just go,” Yuri said, nodding to the JSF rep, prompting the trio to take their leave to the waiting car outside.

“Is there any indication of who might have done this?” Celestino asked the JSF rep; Yuri translated the rep's reply as while he understood English, he did not speak it well enough to reply comfortably.

“He says it was sent by an anonymous Gmail account, so they really have no way to tell. But after what happened at the Grand Prix Final, the JSF has their suspicions.”

Celestino nodded to the rep as the car pulled up to the hotel. “Yeah, so do I.”

The rep said something to Yuri, who replied, then translated. “He asks that you don't take any action. The JSF will investigate.”

“I'm not going to take any chances of messing anything else up for you or them, don't worry,” Celestino said. “But I am going to be very protective of you while we're here. If anything else comes up, I'm not going to hold back on following proper procedures to get it resolved.”

The rep nodded in acknowledgment as they headed inside and to the elevators, and finally back to their rooms with the rep exiting two floors below Yuri and Celestino.

“How did it go?” Phichit asked as the pair returned to the room.

“He's clean, like we knew he would be,” Celestino said. “But between you guys, me and the wall, I would put money on Feltsman fucking around, or at the very least, Popovich. This is exactly the kind of shady shit I heard about happening to the Canadian athletes in Sochi.”

“Why wouldn't they just randomly test me on a practice day or after the competition though?” Yuri wondered.

“That's what the Canadians wondered too when two of their skaters got pulled for doping tests at midnight. Honestly, I should have seen this coming since there's been rumblings all season about Feltsman not being a happy camper that his two biggest names are being upstaged.”

“I never thought Yakov would be shady though,” Phichit said.

“I've got more than a few friends in the pipeline that have told me Feltsman keeps saying he's going to contest Yuri's scores after every comp that the Russians square off with him. Apparently Nikiforov has been yanking the reigns on that though and not letting him do it. Rumor is Popovich got sick of Feltsman backing down on it which is why he ran his mouth at the GPF. So honestly, we can't prove it but it's obvious to me.”

“I... I honestly believe Victor has nothing to do with this. He's been nothing but nice to me, he even cleared up the misunderstanding about how he acted at the Olympics,” Yuri said softly.

“Yeah, and if Victor is the one that keeps stopping Yakov from complaining about the marks...” Phichit added, his words trailing off as he nonetheless thought back about their interactions with Victor for anything that might not have been sincere.

“There's that old saying about keeping your enemies close,” Celestino said. “I don't mind you giving him the benefit of a doubt. But I just think you should prepare for any possible surprises. I know you've looked up to him for a long time Yuri, but just be on your guard.”

Phichit looked over at Yuri and could tell his friend was trying to hold a calm expression as he nodded quietly in acquiescence.

“Anyway. Your group practices at 10, Yuri, and Phichit you're at 10 in the secondary rink. Get some sleep and I'll see you in the morning.” And with that, Celestino headed back to his room.

Yuri flopped back on his bed as soon as the door clicked closed, burying his face in his hands.

“I'm with you, for what it's worth. I really don't think Victor had anything to do with this. I honestly don't think he'd do that to you,” Phichit said.

“I don't know what to believe anymore,” Yuri said. “I don't want to believe he'd do that either, but sometimes when someone is _too_ nice...”

“Awww Yuri, don't. I really don't think Victor did this. Is he in your practice group tomorrow?”

“Yeah, he is. But I'm not going to say anything. I don't even want to think about this possibly getting out to the media. There's eyes and ears everywhere. I didn't even know about the stuff Ciao Ciao just talked about, with Coach Feltsman wanting to contest the marks. I try not to pay attention to this stuff but coaches tend to find out about it. And Celestino's really well-liked and has a lot of friends who know things.”

“I hope it doesn't either, but if it does, you know you did nothing wrong. I mean, you won't even have coffee less than a week before a competition and caffeine isn't even on the banned list,” Phichit said with a laugh.

Yuri pulled the blankets up to his chin, then reached to put out the light. “Anyway. Let's get some sleep. I hope I can calm down now.”

“Just breathe. It will be okay. Even if stuff does get out, you're good. Just remember that.”

  


  


“You have got to be fucking _kidding_ me.”

Chris poked his head out of the bathroom of the room he was sharing with Victor at the other man's aggravated tone; the Russian kept scrolling on his phone. “What's wrong?”

“Apparently Yuri Katsuki was pulled for doping in the middle of the goddamn night,” Victor said. “He's clean, but what the fuck. We already had this shit happen in Sochi and everyone was pointing their fingers at the Russian Federation.”

“So you're saying they will again?” Chris said as he emerged, toweling off his hair.

“After what Georgi pulled at the Final? Most certainly. The Canadian and Japanese media is speculating the RSF had something to do with it, though everything is just rumors and hearsay. It's going to be _so_ much fun walking into the arena for practice today,” Victor said, tossing his phone onto the table in front of him and picking at the rest of this breakfast.

“Is the RSF that worked up about Katsuki stealing your thunder?” Chris wondered aloud.

“I don't think it's the RSF. Yakov cannot let it go. He's been in his glory the last few months with me not having to compete against Yuri. He's been a complete angel to me, treating me like his pride and joy again; well, in public anyway. I still can't do anything good enough on the ice according to him of late. Meanwhile Georgi is getting more and more pissy because he's found himself on the back burner ever since the Final. He's getting just slightly more attention than the Juniors, though Mila will be a Senior come the fall of this year. I'm looking forward to that because Yakov be working with her on her first Senior events and I'll have less reason to deal with him.”

“It just seems so strange,” Chris said. “If anything it would have been more of a story at the Olympics.”

“Yakov thought Yuri would end up being a fluke. And when he didn't, all hell broke loose. It's probably why he wouldn't let me take a break. The thing is, from everything I've read about Celestino's methods with Yuri and getting him on track with his anxiety, I'm worried for the poor thing that this will get into his head. If I'm going to compete against him, I want him at 100 percent. He shouldn't be pulled down by this shit. I was used to people bitching about the Russians always dominating and screaming about scores being inflated, blah blah. But Yuri... I don't think he's had enough time to learn how to handle all this.”

“He's the only skater this year with an undefeated season. You're awfully concerned about someone who's the number one contender to snatch the gold from your hands,” Chris smirked.

“I'm not like Yakov,” Victor retorted, his tone clipped. “I can compete with people and not hate their guts. And you've talked to Yuri. He's just...”

“All I'm saying is you shouldn't let that get in the way of your focus. If you lose to him, it will only make more talk,” Chris cut in.

“What, that I let him win? That I was the one who accused him of doping?” Victor snapped.

“Whoa, calm down. You have to get your emotions in check about this. I'm saying this as your friend,” Chris countered back, his own tone uncharacteristically harsh to bring Victor down off the ledge. The tactic appeared to work as it produced a heavy sigh from the Russian.

“I'm just so tired, Chris. The only part I've enjoyed about this season is competing against Yuri. It's the only time I feel challenged, and rightfully so. He's gifted. He's an even match. And it fucking feels _good_ to not be the singular face of the sport anymore. Nationals? Too easy. Euros? The only real threat I had was you because of the quad Lutz, and it felt good that we were so close – in fact, I'd have put you over me in the final standings because I literally felt like a robot. Everything perfect, everything too easy.”

“But what you're not seeing is that competing against him has improved you so much,” Chris said. “I've watched your performances. You're on another level this year. There's a spark that I even saw you lacking in the past season. You may not feel like it because Yakov never has anything good to say, but it's there, Vitya.”

Chris rarely ever used the diminutive Victor had told him in the past he was comfortable with being addressed as by those closest to him; as such the name pulled the Russian's attention to the fore a bit more and he let out another heavy sigh. “That's another thing. I just... I've gotten to the point where I don't feel like there's anything I could do that would make him, the fans, or the RSF happy anymore... except beating Yuri. And... that's the wrong reason to want to beat someone. Yuri shouldn't be my whipping post just because I feel like crap about my skating. Sure, this all started with the Olympics. But it's not about _Yuri_ . It's about _my_ abilities. It's about how I was never prepped for anyone to be able to compete with me on the same level. It's about having smoke blown up my ass for too long, then being treated like shit when I didn't know how to handle it or work through it. I just... I don't care how I skate. I just...”

“You want to hear that your best is appreciated from the people that should be saying it, no matter what that is,” Chris affirmed.

Victor looked up at his dearest friend, their eyes meeting, and Chris was pretty sure he'd never seen the Russian look so plaintive... so _lost_.

“Yeah,” Victor finally said, his tone soft. “That would be great.”

  


  


Because of the number of skaters attending the event Phichit's practice was, unfortunately, at a designated official practice rink about 15 minutes away from the arena. After the events of the previous night Celestino had called together Yuri, Phichit, and his coaching team member Satsuki, who accompanied Phichit to events when there was a scheduling conflict with Celestino to discuss which coaches would attend to whom. Phichit immediately insisted that Celestino stay with Yuri, and Satsuki would take plenty of video for Celestino to review later if need be. Once Phichit was sorted and on his way, Celestino headed to the main venue with Yuri.

“Oh god. Here we go,” Yuri said as the shuttle bus pulled up to the skaters' entrance in the back of the building to find several TV cameras already staked out to video the skaters' arrivals for the official practices.

“We're just going to walk in, and not talk to anyone. They're more than likely just getting footage for fluff pieces, especially the US and Canadian ones. Don't sweat it. We got this,” Celestino said, giving Yuri's shoulder a pat as they got in line to get off the bus. As Celestino suspected there weren't any reporters there, but as they headed in Yuri found himself having a bit of a difficult time shaking the feeling that every one of the cameras were focused with a laser precision on him. As they arrived at the backstage area Celestino gave Yuri another pat on the shoulder as he headed into the locker room, reminding him that he didn't have to answer any questions, or even talk to anyone, if he really didn't want to.

Yuri sat down, pulling out what he needed for his morning warmup before hitting the ice, periodically sipping on his water to get hydrated. Skaters from the first of two groups that went before Yuri's came in at the end of their session with no incident, and he felt himself relax a bit more. _Maybe today won't be so bad. Maybe everyone's seeing how stupid it all was and not paying attention to it._ He stifled a yawn, not having gotten as much sleep as he'd have liked and really wishing he'd have broken his own personal rule about not having coffee during competitions as he pulled out his skates and ankle sleeves to carry with him out to the warmup area so he didn't have to come back into the locker room for them.

“Late night?”

Yuri felt himself freeze at the voice for a moment before he realized his anxiety was playing tricks on him. The accent wasn't Russian, but Swiss, a fact that clicked in as he saw Chris step over the bench from behind and sit down next to him. He looked up, realizing what Chris was referring to.

“It's gotten out already hasn't it?” Yuri said softly.

“Yeah. It's all over the skating sites this morning. If it helps at all, there isn't a soul that believed for a moment that you'd test anything less than clean,” Chris replied. “Everyone is pretty much talking about how ridiculous it is. No one here thinks you're anything but on the up and up.”

“I wouldn't say no one,” Yuri said. “Someone here has it out for me.”

“Well... I mean, no one in the skaters, at least not the ones I've talked with. The general consensus is that you're the last person that should be doped.”

“Random during a competition I can see, everyone gets hit with that at least once in their career though it's rare. I just... I don't get it,” Yuri said, shaking his head.

“The most important thing is that you don't let it get to you. Don't worry about it. You've been cleared and that's the most important thing,” Chris said.

Yuri nodded quietly, then went back to stuffing his ankle sleeves into their corresponding boots, unsure what to say next.

“Victor is mortified. He's afraid you think it was him,” Chris said after a few more long moments of the silence.

Yuri snapped upright at that, eyes wide. “What? No! I never said –“

“Nononono, he knows you haven't said anything!” Chris said, raising both hands. “He was insistent on not approaching you about it though. He didn't want to bother you with it. But I thought you should know that he's upset about it too and that he doesn't know who did it. All he wants is a good competition between the both of you. To be honest, he's missed having you kick his ass... I mean, push him harder.”

 _He **missed me?**_ “Uh... well... I'll go hard for him then.”

Chris paused, stared at Yuri for a few moments, then suddenly burst into laughter; a second later Yuri realized why and buried his face in his hands.

“Not. Like. _That.”_

“I... I can... still tell him that anyway, it will really rile him up!” Chris sputtered from within his laughing fit.

“Shut up! This isn't a damn joke! He'll see what I have on the ice!” Yuri snapped, his tone changing and bringing Chris up short.

“All right, all right. He doesn't know I came here to talk to you, he'd kill me if he knew. So let's just keep it between us for now. I just wanted you to know he had nothing to do with what happened.”

Yuri's extended silence, the second time in the conversation, made Chris realize that his attempt at easing the situation may actually have backfired – the thought confirmed as Yuri met his eyes with his own that had changed expression to the steely gaze Chris had only seen when Katsuki was ready for battle.

“I've decided I'm not trusting anyone here until this is all over,” Yuri said, his voice nearly a growl with having dropped in pitch. He rose, gathering up his smaller duffel bag and his boots, casting one last glance down at Chris.

“If the RSF or whoever is messing around wants to play, they can. But even if they throw their best at me, I know I can beat them. And I will. I won't let them screw me over. I don't lay down for anyone anymore. And you can tell Victor, Georgi, and anyone else who asks _that.”_

Chris blinked, completely thrown by whatever he'd done that had caused the sudden shift in Katsuki's mood, and sat there in silence for a few minutes in confusion after watching the Japanese skater disappear out of the locker room door.

“Why. Did. You. Do. That.”

Chris cringed. This time, the accent _was_ Russian.

“Why did you talk to him?” Victor snapped, letting go of his rolling bag before he stopped walking so that it flopped over with a loud thump. “I told you to leave him alone!”

“I... I just wanted to tell him what you wouldn't. I thought he'd need to hear it,” Chris said. “But it seems I managed to trip his bitch switch. You missed out, it was kind of hot actually.”

“Don't make light of this!”

“Victor. Calm down. You wanted him fired up, and I accomplished that. You should be thanking me.”

“What the fuck ever, Chris. I'm going to warm up. We have the group that's on now and a Zamboni break before we go out.” Victor turned abruptly, going around to the next row of lockers to unpack. Chris gathered his things and moved down to the end of the row he was in, keeping his distance from Victor for now as he prepared for the practice session.

  


  


“Hey, calm down. You're going to spend all your energy jumping around back here and be dead on your feet out on the ice.”

Celestino had noticed the sudden change in Yuri's demeanor from just 30 minutes earlier, as if entering the locker room had somehow caused him to emerge as a different version of himself. Yuri had gotten good at switching off outside interference, but usually it was only employed during competition. The rapid descent into what almost seemed like anger verging on rage concerned the coach more than a little as he recognized it as overcompensation for whatever emotions the skater was working through.

Yuri stopped his floor runthrough which had turned quite aggressive, with triple jumps done on the mats harboring such strength he'd nearly fallen on the landings. Another skater that had already been giving him a wide berth had ended up taking his leave at sensing Katsuki's stressed state, casting a look of concern his way as he'd gathered his things.

Celestino grabbed Yuri by the shoulders and made him sit down, handing him a sports drink he'd grabbed after seeing Yuri pushing himself on the elliptical earlier. “Okay, spill. What's going on in that head of yours?”

Yuri chugged about half of the bottle of blue liquid, capping it up and setting it down with a louder-than-needed clack on the bench.

“Chris Giacometti came over to me in the locker room. He said he wanted me to know that Victor had nothing to do with what happened and that he's upset about it, but that he didn't want to come to me himself. I don't know how to feel about that. At the Final when Georgi was messing around, Victor had no problem coming to me. But now he's holding back and I don't know what to think.”

“Okay. Think about this then,” Celestino replied. “How long have you known Victor?”

“Huh? I... don't really know him much at all. We've talked a few times. That's it.”

“Exactly. So you don't know what's going on in his head right now either. He's been in the big leagues longer than you. He knows what this is all like. Everything I've seen so far today has what happened getting pinned on the RSF without any real proof. He's smart to keep his distance, because he could just as easily get accused of trying to intimidate you further.”

Yuri drew in a deep breath, exhaling sharply. “Yeah... but... I mean, I don't _want_ to think that about him but...”

“No buts. Do I think Giacometti should have kept his mouth shut? Yeah I do. But no sense in stirring the pot more by complaining. From what I know, Chris and Victor are tight like you and Phichit. And honestly I think Phichit would have done the same for Victor if the shoe was on the other foot, for better or worse. So yeah. Out of everything this is the last thing you should let get under your skin.”

“I just... I feel like I have twice as much to prove now. That on top of knowing I can kick ass, I have to prove they didn't get to me. And right now I don't feel like I'm doing that second part very well.”

“Hey. I don't blame you. I'm pissed off about it all too. But. Just like always, let's turn this around into fuel for the fight instead of letting it deflate you.”

Yuri looked up as the backstage area's noise level raised due to the group of skaters from the previous session coming off the ice with their teams, along with the thrumming of the Zamboni heading out to the ice. He then turned his eyes to Celestino as he caught a glimpse of Georgi turning into the locker room.

“Okay. I'm probably just tired too. I'll get it together,” Yuri said, his tone softening. “I'm sor--”

“Ah ah, no sorry. You're never going to be perfect all the time, Yuri. I don't expect that, and neither should you. It's okay to be pissed, but there's ways to make that work for you. And we'll focus on that today. Now get your skates on, we have about 15 before we get out there.” Celestino reached around and squeezed Yuri's shoulders, then bopped him lightly on the head with the paperwork he held in one hand to make the skater crack a smile. With one last pat on his shoulder Celestino got up and left Yuri to himself to lace up, knowing that was one of the times Yuri liked to use to focus.

Indeed, the muscle-memory of lacing up proved almost hypnotic and therapeutic in a way as Yuri drew within, working on clearing his mind as his sports psychologist had instructed. As first one boot, then the other wrapped his feet in their embrace, the tightness feeling right and comforting, his body relaxed in kind.

_The only person that can overcome all of it and win is me. At the end of the day, I control everything that happens to me. And if someone tries to take it from me, they'll deal with my blades as I skate circles around them. I fought too hard to get where I am, I fought **myself** too hard to get where I am, to let anyone's bullshit games take what's mine from me, even if if that's my own mind and confidence. I. Can. Do. This._

And Yuri Katsuki, Reigning World Champion, rose with a stamp of each guarded blade on the floor padding to settle into his boots, zipping up his Team Japan jacket, game face locking into place as he proceeded toward the ice to continue the journey in defense of his title.

  


  


If Victor had been forced to admit it, he would have said that the main reason he'd looked forward to Worlds wasn't really so much for the skating, but for the chance to see Yuri again. He'd stopped trying to hide the fact that he'd enjoyed getting to know the enigmatic Japanese skater, instead even spending time watching older videos of his development from his last year of Juniors through the beginning of his time under Celestino's tutelage. He'd found himself both impressed and fascinated at how, in just three short years, Yuri had gone from “skater with potential but lacking good jumping technique” to Olympic and World Champion.

That was the thing though, about Victor's career. From the first day Yakov took him on Victor had been treated as a prodigy. Even though the renowned coach was terrifying to the young skater, he learned that the better he was, the less ire and criticism he'd incur. Yakov was similarly hard on Georgi, but Georgi had a bit more courage, often sassing Yakov and ending up with an extra hour of off-ice training as punishment. Over time Victor learned to speak his mind, but it was always in a way that had to be a mic drop, something Yakov couldn't counter. Eventually, it just became a matter of course, and whenever Yakov would acquiesce to something it was unspoken acknowledgment of Victor's growing skills, from trying the next step up on a new jump, to breaking from Lilia as the person who chose his music and choreography to take it on himself.

Once Victor had started winning and dominating, he didn't have to engage in the war of words. He got anything he wanted, and now, in retrospect, he cringed at the fact that he'd begun to enjoy it. He realized now that what had translated to Yakov finally relenting and rewarding Victor for his years of hard work was really only meant to keep Victor appeased so he kept skating well. The “rewards” had only hinged on how long he'd kept that winning streak active. Now he was back to the Yakov from Victor's early twenties, the one that was stuck between disciplining his star student as the child he'd been and being unable to parse how to work with the grown man he'd become.

Victor had hoped to talk with Yuri about it, wanting to know more about the process Katsuki had been through and wanting to understand, perhaps, what it was like to have a coach that rewarded improvement with actual praise and encouragement while working on ways to fix what was broken. A coach that was a true partner and friend, the kind of that took care of a skater and his competition needs and only asking for the requisite amount of work to improve in return.

Instead, Victor could not get out of his head the image of the Yuri Katsuki he'd practiced with today. It had almost disheartened him too much to even look at the Japanese skater. As Victor had feared Yuri was getting a taste of the darker side of being on top of the world, and now the Russian skater was certain he'd seen the first indications of Yuri's soft edges beginning to harden. Katsuki made eye contact with no one, kept to himself, laser focused on the job he had to do. The runthrough of his short program was seriously intimidating in how perfect, how precision it was. And yet, there was still a fire in it. It wasn't emotionless – rather, Yuri had somehow channeled whatever anger he had over the situation from the night before and was turning it into the fuel for his drive. Conversely, Victor had grown up with being told to shake off whatever came at him, even if he was upset about it. The better he got at that, the more emotionless he'd been accused of being on the ice – and, he realized, the more he'd become off of it as well.

Today, Yuri Katsuki's level of perfection, focus and fire had been literally _terrifying._ And rather than learning from him as Victor hoped, he was now faced with the thought that all of Katsuki's ire was more than likely directed squarely at him. And that, Victor realized as the pounding in his chest had turned to a despairing heaviness, was the thing that hurt the most. He had decided, as he packed his things after the morning practice session, that whoever had driven this wedge between him and Yuri would pay the moment he found out who it was. And he _would_ find out, if it was the last thing he'd do.

Chris had been keeping his distance even in practice, and as he rode the shuttle bus back to the hotel, sitting in the front-most seat to avoid talking to anyone, Victor realized his own anger over the situation threatened to drive another wedge between himself and the only person Victor trusted without question. He knew Chris would likely brush it off, because he _got_ it. And he hoped, some day, that Yuri would feel the same.

As Victor stepped off the bus, heading inside and pulling his rolling bag behind him, he heard two voices growing louder as their owners disembarked. They were laughing about something and bantering back and forth casually in English. At first it was hard to parse who it was, as the many accents he'd been surrounded by so far this week had begun to mesh and sometimes didn't register when not in their native languages. Veering off to the right, taking his phone out of his pocket and pretending to check messages, he waited to see if his suspicion was correct.

The Team Japan and Team Thailand jackets he spotted as he peered up from his phone confirmed it as the pair stopped to talk to a small group of fans who appeared to be staying at the hotel. He listened as Yuri chatted almost shyly in his native tongue with the Japanese admirers, a complete 180 degree shift from what he'd experienced earlier. Yuri translated for Phichit when the fans had something to say to the Thai skater, the impromptu autograph session ending with Phichit pulling out his selfie stick and taking group shots for the fans, then for himself and Yuri.

Victor moved closer as Yuri and Phichit went to the elevators, watching after the doors closed on the pair to see what floor theirs ended up stopping at. Once he'd made note that they were on the floor below his own he headed back to his room, which he found empty. Chris had many friends among the skaters, and with the tension between them Victor wasn't surprised his roommate hadn't returned even though they'd been in the same practice session. After setting his things down and mulling over the thoughts in his mind for a good 15 minutes, he finally rose and headed to the elevators, going up to Yuri and Phichit's floor.

It was only as he walked out of the elevator on said floor that Victor realized just how clouded his mind was at the moment. He knew what floor they were on, but had no idea what room number. He stood at the end of the hallway leading out of the elevator bank, looking both ways down the corridor of rooms and finding it devoid of people. Short of looking like a fool by knocking on every door, or like a stalker by waiting there until they appeared again (which might not be for hours, as the second round of practices wasn't until after dinner), he had no way of finding the object of his search.

With a heavy sigh Victor walked back to the elevators, punching the “up” button and stepping forward as an elevator arrived, coming from a floor above. The doors opened... And to Victor's surprise, he was faced with Phichit, Yuri and the American skater Leo de la Iglesia, a first-year Senior making his debut at Worlds.

“Victor? Hi!” Leo chirped, face flushing as the trio got off the elevator. “I didn't know you were on Yuri and Phichit's floor?”

“I'm... I'm not. I... got lost,” Victor said, knowing his words were completely unconvincing.

“We're going to get some lunch,” Leo continued. “Yuri just forgot his wallet.” He looked at Yuri, who had already begun to walk toward the hallway leading to the rooms. “We'll just wait here... for you...” Leo said, his words trailing off as Yuri walked away, turning to the right.

“Hey, you wanna come with us?” Leo said brightly; Victor didn't miss the elbow Phichit jabbed into Leo's ribs.

“Ah... no, I'm probably going to just order room service and nap till the night session. The jetlag is catching up to me.” He poked the elevator button again, as it had closed and moved on during the conversation. “But thank you.”

“Leo's a big fan,” Phichit smiled, clearly trying to ease some of the tension. “He's always wanted to meet you. I guess you could say he's a bit ambitious.” Another side-eye from Phichit in Leo's direction, which made the American skater blush harder.

“Well that's very flattering,” Victor said. “Maybe once the competition is over we'll have a chance to talk more.” On reflex he looked to his right when Phichit's attention turned to Yuri returning, stuffing his wallet into his “civilian” jacket's pocket.

The elevator going down opened and proved to be mostly full; Victor realized that he had, again, missed the one he'd summoned for going up and poked the button, looking down at his shoes. In his peripheral vision he saw Phichit and Leo hurrying on – and then a voice in Chinese-accented English came from within saying “Too full, you have to wait!” as the doors closed.

Victor looked up and found himself alone with Yuri.

“Well... that was rude of them,” Victor ventured carefully.

“Yeah, some lady hit the button and closed the doors,” Yuri said, jabbing at the down button again.

Silence for a few moments. Finally, Victor drew in another breath.

“Yuri... I...”

“I know. You don't know anything about it.” Victor was uncertain if there was an edge of sarcasm in Yuri's tone, the other skater standing with hands jammed in pockets, staring down at his own feet through his blue-rimmed glasses.

“I don't. I swear to you, I don't. But if I do find out, I won't hesitate to report them to the correct authorities in the ISU. I'll do all I can to get them suspended or banned if it applies, I don't care. Because it's bullshit what happened to you.”

“Just... do me a favor.”

“Anything, Yuri.”

“Leave me alone till this is all over. I've got enough to worry about with the JSF breathing down my neck to defend my title, and last night didn't help. I need to think straight, and I can't do that with you poking at me. So just... save it, okay?”

The light over the elevator in front of Yuri, going down, lit up with an accompanying tone; in the bank behind them, one going up did the same.

“All right, Yuri. I will do that. But... I hope we'll talk again.”

Yuri walked into the empty elevator without another word, the doors closing with a dull thud. Victor stood and stared at him leaving and missed his third elevator in the last 10 minutes as the one behind him closed and moved on. Jabbing the up button once more he found the doors opening immediately on the one in front of him, the up light blinking on. His mind was so blank, the heaviness in his chest that much more dense, that he forgot to hit the number of his floor and rode all the way to the top before it came back down to where he needed to be. Finally exiting, he headed to his room and after a quick change of clothing fell into bed and into a dreamless, disheartened sleep.

  


  


“Yuri! What took so long? We saw like I don't know how many elevators...”

Phichit stopped short (a feat for the well-known chatterbox) when he caught sight of Yuri's face upon his exit from the elevator.

“What's wrong? Did Victor say something to you?” Phichit asked.

“He said he didn't have anything to do with what happened.” Yuri's response was deadpan. “Anyway, let's go eat, I'm starving.”

“Wait, you talked to Victor and you're not freaking out?” Leo asked. “Are you feeling okay?”

“I'll be fine if I don't have to think about Victor or whatever else. Now let's go eat,” Yuri said, his tone clipped; Phichit shot Leo a look that read “drop it”. As the trio walked out to hail a cab a shuttle bus pulled up and Chris stepped off with a few other skaters.

“Hello gentlemen,” Chris said with a smile as he began to make his way over but stopped when he saw Yuri turn back to face the others after hailing the cab.

“Hey Chris!” Leo smiled. “Wanna come to lunch with us?”

“Another time, cheri, I'm pretty beat from training. I'm not as young and energetic as the lot of you. But maybe once the competition's done, all right?” Chris replied with a smile.

“Okay!” Leo grinned, waving as Chris headed inside, then turning back to his companions to see that neither had actually been receptive to the extended invitation if their facial expressions were anything to go by.

“What's gotten into you two?” Leo asked as they climbed into the cab.

“I'm... just kind of stressed out with everything that's been going on,” Yuri said quietly. “Let's just go eat and talk about anything but skating for a little while.”

  


  


As soon as Chris had nudged the door open and found the room with the drapes drawn, he knew Victor was likely engaging in one of his many naps. It was completely common for Victor to sleep a good amount of his free time away at a competition and with another practice that evening on the second of two double-session practice days of the week, Chris was hardly surprised. He moved around the room as lightly as he could; having showered at the venue he stripped to his briefs and climbed into bed himself, pulling up Instagram to scroll through on his phone.

“Did you see Yuri on your way in?”

Chris turned toward Victor's bed, where the Russian's muffled voice had emanated from beneath what looked like a pile of blankets with a lock of silver hair catching the dim light seeping in around the edges of the drapes. “I did. He was leaving with Phichit and Leo de la Iglesia, going to lunch. Leo invited me along, but I got the Stare of Death from Yuri, so I opted out.”

“He told me he wants me to leave him alone until competition is done.”

“Well... that's not an unreasonable request.”

Victor pulled the blankets down off of his face with a sigh. “I know. I just... I tried to tell him I didn't have anything to do with what happened. But I don't know if he believed me.”

“Quite honestly, I think he's probably trying to put it behind him for now,” Chris said. “I think I would want to as well. If you keep letting thoughts of someone possibly trying to sabotage you in, that would fuck with anyone's head, let alone someone who's had issues with confidence in the past.”

“I said I hoped we'd talk again. He didn't answer.”

“Then the best thing you can do is focus on yourself for now. If you keep trying to get through to him, it might only serve to make you look guilty.”

Victor raised up on an elbow. “What? How??”

“By trying to smooth things over too much. It could be construed as suspicious.” Chris took on an affected tone then. “Oh nooooo, not meeeee, I didn't do it!” He punctuated his words with a fake grin.

In turn, Victor sighed more heavily. “Yeah... you're right.”

“Having said that I made my own mistake trying to talk to him today.”

“You were trying to help. I'm sorry I snapped at you.”

“C'est la vie. It's Worlds. Everyone's on edge, and anonymous antics don't help. But I can't help but ask how Yakov was acting today.”

“We didn't talk much. I did my shit and got out, just like everyone else in our group once Yuri threw down the gauntlet with that runthrough.”

“He _is_ looking like quite the beast isn't he?” Chris said. “I imagine he feels he's got a lot to prove now.”

“He did mention that the JSF is breathing down his neck to win. I knew that would happen. The last big skater they had, the minute they didn't finish on the podium the Japanese media started writing about how they failed to place. The fans are rock solid, but that kind of media scrutiny is likely one of the reasons Yuri needed the help he did when Celestino took him on, and it's only going to get worse now. Which makes what happened that much more infuriating.”

“Well cheri, there isn't much you can do about it. He has to grow up on his own, just like we all did.”

“Some had to do it more alone than others. In that, he's lucky he's got the support system he has. It's quite enviable.”

Chris grew silent at that, the tone of Victor's voice telling. As he mulled over voicing the thoughts that pooled in his mind, he heard the other man's breathing even out; turning on the screen of his phone, he saw in the dim light that Victor had fallen back to sleep.

It was just as well, Chris decided as he set an alarm for their later practice and pulled his own blankets up to his chin. He was pretty sure what he'd thought of saying, Victor already knew.

_You're going to have to do something soon, cheri. Or you'll end up broken forever._

  


  


The second and final men's practice of the evening for the top three groups had flip-flopped locations from the morning, with the lower-ranked groups getting their turn on the main venue's ice and the high-ranked skaters in the more quiet secondary rink. The main benefit to this was that there were no spectators allowed, and for that Yuri was grateful. He also found himself grateful a second time when, as tended to be the norm for many skaters with the full days of practices where everyone had two sessions, Victor and Chris did not attend the evening one. Instead, he found himself on the ice with only Mickey, Otabek, and much to his chagrin, Georgi.

Yuri kept his second practice much more low-key, with the short program being the next afternoon and another practice session in the late morning in the same rink he was in currently. He worked on his quad Salchow and quad flip during the wait for his turn and then ran through his short, this time marking out the jumps to preserve his body for the much more important day to come. After he took his bows he went over to Celestino at the boards, noting the concerned expression on his coach's face.

“How are you feeling?” Celestino asked.

“I'm a bit tired. I didn't get a nap in like I wanted to because I made the mistake of letting myself be talked into going to lunch, which lasted till almost dinnertime,” he said with a bit of a smirk.

“You know what, let's cut it short then. Between the crazy 24 hours we've had and jet lag, I think you should get back to the room and call it a night. I don't want you pushing yourself. The morning practice was wheels up, I honestly don't think you can be any more ready.”

For a moment Yuri almost protested, but then thought the better of it. Instead he nodded and Celestino picked up their things as Yuri headed off the ice, following his coach back into the warmup area to cool down his muscles. Celestino sat nearby while texting with someone on his phone, which Yuri found a bit unusual. Once he finished his final back stretches he got up to sit beside his coach on the bench.

“Everything okay?” Yuri asked.

“Yeah, yeah,” Celestino replied. “I've just been going back and forth with Dr. Jeff back home. He hit me up first. He wanted to know how you're doing with everything that's been going on.”

Yuri blinked in surprise; he hadn't expected to hear from his sports psychologist, as it was something that never happened while he was away for a competition. “I... well, I'm okay, I guess...”

“Listen, it's 8:00 am there now. He says he doesn't have an appointment till 11 today, and if you want, he'll Skype with you if you think you need to touch base,” Celestino said. “If I'm gonna be honest, I think it's a good idea. You're too wound up today and it isn't just from not getting sleep or being upset about everything.”

Yuri remembered, back at the beginning of his time with Celestino before he'd begun treatment, what holding things in had resulted in: A disaster performance at his Regionals that saw him just barely squeak by into Nationals and only because there was only one other skater that could challenge him, and they'd done poorly as well. That had been at a competition no one but the 100 or so people in the rink would ever see. This, however, was Worlds...

“You know what... I think I'm going to take him up on that,” Yuri said. “I might have to see if Phichit can leave the room for a bit...”

“You can come to my room. The guy they put me with had his skater withdraw, so he left this afternoon. I'll make myself busy elsewhere till you're done.”

“No... you can stay. It's not like you don't know everything anyway,” Yuri said. “I think I'd rather work through it with both of you.”

“Okay kiddo. We'll get your brainmeats back in order,” Celestino winked, evoking a smile at the private joke between the two of them from Yuri. “Go get packed up to head back to the hotel, and I'll let J know we're in.”

Yuri headed into the locker room to pack up his things, already feeling better about the prospect of talking to the one person that had always been able to set him to rights, on top of the support of his coach. He'd just finished and was zipping up his Team Japan jacket when Otabek came into the room, looking around with an air of urgency then hurrying over to Yuri, still in his boots with hardguards on his blades. Considering Otabek rarely went out of his way to talk to anyone, Yuri found himself taken aback and more than a little concerned.

“I debated whether to tell you this, because I know today has probably been crazy for you,” Otabek said, his tone low as he leaned in close so Yuri could hear. “But as I was finishing up with practice, I heard Yakov and Georgi having words. I don't think they realized I was still there because my coach had already gone in back, and they thought no one could understand the Russian. Long story short, it was Georgi. Yakov didn't know he did it, but found out somehow, probably with all the connections he has. They were arguing about the fact that Yakov wants to withdraw Georgi tomorrow due to 'injury' and send him home as punishment. I don't know what else will happen but... there's that.”

Yuri took a few moments to process the information, eyes going wide; a few more moments and he realized his own suspicions were confirmed. “Thank you for telling me,” Yuri said. “At least I know now, and I can't say I'm surprised.”

“I will report what I heard, if you want me to. I can do it anonymously,” Otabek offered.

“No... I... honestly, I don't want it coming out in any way that you blew him in. You don't have to be involved. If Yakov has any kind of a conscience, he'll do the right thing. If he doesn't, then, well... that tells me all I need to know about him. But again, thank you. You didn't have to even tell me and I appreciate that you did.”

Otabek stepped back, nodding quietly. “It wasn't right. We work all too hard to be where we are, and you especially have come a long way. You deserve to be where you are.” He paused then as there were voices outside of the locker room and he looked over his shoulder a moment, then back to Yuri. “If something does happen and they need people to vouch for what was said, I will step forward. Just know that.” And with one final devisive nod, Otabek turned and headed back out to the cooldown area.

Yuri stood silently for a few minutes, his exhausted mind processing what he'd just been told. He'd finally snapped out of it and was shouldering on his backpack when Celestino poked his head in the door.

“Hey buddy, you all right?” he asked, coming in to take Yuri's rolling bag for him.

“Yeah... I'm good. Just... when we get back to the room, before we call Dr. Jeff, I've got something important to tell you. I don't want to talk about it here.”

Celestino looked at Yuri with concern. “What's wrong? Are you injured?”

“No! Nothing like that. I just... found out something.” Yuri paused as he heard Yakov's voice barking loudly in Russian, in a heated discussion with another man; Celestino put a hand on Yuri's shoulder, silently staying him until their voices faded once they'd passed by.

“That didn't sound good. C'mon, let's get going. I'll be glad to get out of this atmosphere for the night,” Celestino said.

“Yeah,” Yuri said with a nod as he followed his coach toward the shuttle bus exit. “Me too.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was also linked in the story, but in ICYMI: Reference for events at the beginning of the chapter came from [here](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/olympics/alleged-pact-between-us-and-russian-judges-would-shut-canada-out-of-figure-skating-gold/article16762373/).
> 
> Thanks for all the comments, and as always for reading. I'm off to watch the World Team Trophy short programs now 😁


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The 2014-15 figure skating season comes to a dramatic close in more ways than one.

Victor never usually had difficulty sleeping at competitions, especially when there was jet lag involved. Conversely, when it was time to skate, he was always up and at full attention in no time at all. However both Chris and he had found that by the time the evening practice alarm Chris had set on his phone went off, they'd both been hit hard by jet lag. As a result they found themselves too exhausted to go in for the final practice of the day, which wasn't totally uncommon for the night practice before a competition day.

Both men were more than a bit disoriented upon waking the next morning as both of their phones went off almost simultaneously with their respective coaches' ringtones. Each had fallen asleep before setting an alarm for the short program practice the following morning. Consequently they both ended up scrambling to throw on clothing and make sure they had everything needed in their skate bags before flying out the door and just barely making the shuttle bus to the arena.

It wasn't the first time Victor had overslept for a practice, and as such he was nonplussed as he headed to the gym to warm up on the treadmill. He'd sacrifice a bit of stretching time but he hadn't planned on going full out the morning of the short program anyway, and settled in to his walking pace to get his body moving. He only realized just after the rhythm became comfortable that he'd forgotten his earbuds in his duffel bag, but decided stopping to go get them with his now more limited warmup time wasn't a good idea. He was good at tuning out conversations and getting caught up in his own thoughts... usually.

“So it was the other Russian skater? Popovich? Seriously?”

“That's the rumor. Nothing's been said officially but someone in the stands that understood what they were saying posted about it on Twitter.”

Victor slowed his pace as he heard the two Canadian skaters who were warming up on the mats behind him discussing what sounded like a certain situation. Both thought that speaking in French would cover their words – except that Victor was fluent in the language and as such lent an attentive ear to the conversation.

“So what will happen if it's true? Will the RSF suspend him?”

“I don't know. Stuff like that gets covered up a lot, and since it came from Twitter there's a good chance they'll just blow it off that way. And since Feltsman got wind of it first, it probably won't get reported to the right people.”

“Yeah, and I wouldn't be surprised if the Russian rep to the ISU was the one who found out and tipped him off. Popovich has been lowkey snarky in interviews lately too. He's always been a little weird. And after what happened at the Grand Prix Final practice they could just say it's not true and that it's a bitter Katsuki fan trying to get revenge by starting rumors.”

Victor stopped the treadmill to listen more clearly, but the pair moved on as their group was about to go on the ice. Gathering his things he did a bit more stretching but found himself unable to focus, so he headed to the locker room for his earbuds. As he entered, he caught sight of Georgi sitting on the bench at the end of the first row of lockers, digging in his skate bag.

Even the sight of his rinkmate, who had been increasingly more intolerable over the last few months since the Final, was enough to bring Victor's blood to a simmer. How much higher the heat would go depended on what Georgi had to say for himself now. Victor walked along the bench on the side that Georgi had his back to; he stopped behind the other man and grabbed a handful of his Team Russia jacket's collar, pulling him upright then leaning around to place his face in front of Georgi's.

“Don't even try to lie. Don't even try to say it was a rumor. It was you, wasn't it?” Victor growled, blue eyes narrowing in barely-controlled anger.

“I saw him taking a pill in the locker room yesterday,” Georgi said.

“You mean the medication he's been open about in more than one interview, the one that he takes for anxiety? The one that is perfectly legal by doping standards, that he went through proper channels with the ISU to get approval for regardless? Do you realize what a complete ass you've made of yourself?” Victor replied, the fist holding a handful of Georgi's jacket tightening its grip and therefore tightening the collar around Georgi's neck.

“Victor! What the hell?” Chris' voice broke in as he jogged over, grabbing his friend by the shoulders and pulling him off of Georgi.

“The son-of-a-bitch is the one that falsely reported Yuri,” Victor snapped.

Chris blinked in surprise, but only for a moment. “Well yes, we both suspected _that_ ,” he said, throwing a disdainful glare at Georgi. “But you don't need to get disqualified for beating the crap out of him. Do it in the off-season where no one can see you,” he added with a rather wicked smirk.

“Yakov apparently knows,” Victor added. “But of course he probably won't do anything about it.”

“Yakov is on his way to let the officials know that he's withdrawing me... 'due to illness',” Georgi growled, raising his hands to do air quotes around the last three words of his sentence. “He's sending me home.”

Victor let Georgi's collar go, but not without giving him a decent shove forward. “I promised Yuri if I found out who did this, I'd make sure they got suspended. Don't think I won't make good on that,” he snapped angrily.

“Why, so he'll finally allow you to fuck him?” Georgi fired back – and a second later found himself grabbed by the collar again, the grip tighter and from the front this time as Victor's face, eyes blazing with fury, knocked foreheads with the other man as he leaned in once more.

“Victor! Stop!”

The only voice that could snap Victor out of his barely contained rage broke into his thoughts at that moment and he looked up to see Yuri, who had just entered the locker room, hurrying forward.

“We found out last night and Celestino confronted Yakov this morning, who then reported it properly. The JSF and RSF have been debating with the ISU what to do since then. I've filed an official grievance and they're going to go through the proper procedures for discipline. I'm happy with that. Let it go. Don't fuck yourself over by doing something stupid right now,” Yuri half-shouted, his face an angry glare.

Chris let out a sharp exhale as Victor rose to full height after giving Georgi one last release-turned-shove, the Russian's face softening somewhat. “All right. But I hope you know Yakov is withdrawing him.”

“It was just announced. I saw them switch out the competitors' lists on the corkboard on the way in. I'm fine with that too. And honestly I don't care what happens, as long as he's held accountable.” Yuri's eyes narrowed as he locked them on Georgi, his tone turning a bit more emphatic. “However, I'm willing to accept that it may have been a _simple misunderstanding_.”

Yuri's carefully-measured, angry tone was followed by a staredown of several seconds with Georgi, during which both Victor and Chris could see the comprehension dawning on Popovich's face. The Russian then rose, snatching up his duffel and rollaway bags and stalking silently out of the locker room.

“Why are you willing to let him slide on this?” Victor asked after a few more moments of silence. “He doesn't deserve to be protected!”

“I'm not protecting him, far from it. He claimed in the official statement he made in defense of my grievance that he saw me taking an unknown pill, and it was immediately identified as the medication I have on record as being approved via the doping results. All they're going to question is his method of reporting it. Quite honestly, he's going to get off with a slap on the hand no matter what because you know how shit like this works. Celestino and I discussed it. It's enough for me that Yakov's pulling him from Worlds and that he'll at least be accountable in some official capacity,” Yuri said. “Now drop it. I want to move on so I can focus.”

Chris put a hand on Victor's shoulder to stay him as Yuri turned and walked to his locker in the second row to the group's left to retrieve his skates, then left the room.

“He's right, you know. It's not worth it,” Chris agreed. “Georgi will say he thought he was doing the right thing, they'll penalize him somehow for not going through proper channels in some way, and that will be it. If anything, Yakov needs to be looking into what his problem is and why he's acting out like this. I'd be more concerned about that.”

“Yakov only cares about what's going on when you're wearing skates and are on the ice. Anything else isn't his problem,” Victor replied, resignation in his tone.

“Well if that's the case, let's both get out there because our group is going on shortly. We don't need to be late a second time today,” Chris said. “Take this anger and make it work for you. Show Yakov why he's paying too much attention to the wrong skater right now because quite honestly? I think that's what Georgi's game is here. The question is why.”

“He's always complained about being in my shadow,” Victor said as they sat down to lace up. “We were born a day apart. Same age, but Georgi never reached the same level as I did. Sometimes that's just how it works. Your body is different than everyone else's and some things you just can never do. So of course Yakov nurtured my abilities more than Georgi's. There's always been a bit of a rivalry, but it didn't get this bad until after the Olympics.”

“Because now there's a second skater in his way that Yakov's paying more attention to than him,” Chris confirmed, bringing Victor up short.

“You... you're probably right,” the Russian replied. “I hadn't thought of it that way.”

Just then a volunteer poked his head into the door. “So sorry to bother, next group in five minutes,” he said, then leaving as Chris acknowledged with a smile and nod; in response both he and Victor rose, with the latter doing a few bounces to settle into his boots.

“And as for Yuri,” Chris concluded as they headed out to the ice, “Keep your distance as he asked. The poor thing has had enough interference. You'll both be better off if you focus on yourselves for the next two days. He'll come around when he's ready to.”

  
  


  
News of Georgi's withdrawal spread quickly, and as such the atmosphere in the venue for the men's short felt somewhat more tense. Russia's third men's skater was a first-season Senior and at the very least would only place high enough to help his country retain their three spots for the following year's Worlds, so the only podium-level skater Russia had left was Victor. Japan's situation was similar; their other skaters were also non-factors aside from placing high enough to retain a third spot for Japan, so the country's hopes for a gold now once again rested on Yuri's shoulders.

The final group in the short program was now made up of only five men: Chris, Mickey, Yuri, Otabek and Victor, in order of skate. In a competition that always brought out at least a few surprise performances, Phichit currently found himself in first out of those who had skated after landing a quad toe-triple toe combination as well as a clean triple Lutz and triple Axel in his short, logging his first quad combo in competition. It had been watching Phichit's performance from backstage that had lifted Yuri's mood considerably, and he couldn't wait to congratulate his friend once the short program was over. Phichit would hold off on speaking with Yuri until then, as he respected boundaries and kept his distance during competitions to allow his best friend to focus.

Victor made sure to stay out of Yuri's way, and also to tune out everything including Chris' performance as he kicked off the final group. Being last to skate was always a blessing and curse, and Victor now felt he had the added pressure of giving the air that his rinkmate's antics hadn't affected his performance. He had instead opted for the approach Chris had suggested, and was currently channeling all of his frustration and anger with the events of the last two days into honing his focus for his performance.

As he paced around after two full on-the-floor visualizations of his short program, Victor turned to see several people, including Chris, gathering around one of the screens as the wait for Mickey's scores began. He had already convinced himself he wasn't going to watch Yuri's performance, but when a glimpse of the standings found Chris in first with a score that could only mean he'd landed yet another clean quad Lutz, Victor drew closer to watch from behind the group by a couple of paces as Yuri took his pose at center ice.

The closeup on Yuri's face as the intro to his music, “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons, told Victor all he needed to know: Katsuki was, as he had been at the Grand Prix Final, out for blood once more. Every movement was crisp, the mood intense, the opening quad flip pristine and the triple Axel making Chris and another person in the group gasp along with Victor at its height and perfection, the level of GOE raised by a back-counter entrance and the immediate transition into a back outside spread eagle runout on the landing. As the halfway-point was marked with the bridge of the song Yuri transitioned out of a spin sequence to wind up for his final jumping pass, the usual planned quad Salchow-triple toe loop...

“Did that just friggin' happen? Are we serious right now?”

The exclamation had come from another skater from the second-to-last group that was watching with them, but the sentiment was shared by all as Yuri, without warning, turned the second jump in the combination to a triple loop, gaining an extra point in base value. However, the GOE was only 1.23 when the landing of the loop proved to be a bit shaky though still counted as clean. Victor recognized it as adrenaline at first, but as Yuri finished the program and replays were shown it turned out he hadn't gotten his free leg unwrapped enough to pick in for the toe loop, and had changed the jump on the fly to avoid missing the combination.

“Is this kid even human?” an older man Victor knew to be the coach of a Finnish skater said. “Who saves a combination by doing a _harder_ jump? Have you ever seen him do that before?”

Victor turned to see who the coach was addressing and found Phichit had come over to watch, with the coach clearly knowing that Yuri was Phichit's rinkmate.

“He's played with different combinations for a long time,” Phichit said. “When he was working on the Sal-toe combo, sometimes he'd wrap his free leg weird and miss it. It was a bad habit his old coach never fixed after he hit a growth spurt. Then one day he saved it by doing a double loop, and worked on upping it to a triple. I've never seen him do it in competition before though, that's crazy!” Phichit said.

Victor walked away from the monitors as Yuri's marks put him solidly into first place and the cameras switched to Otabek taking his opening pose, giving Victor approximately seven to eight minutes total before he was to skate. Everyone would be buzzing about the combination Yuri had landed, but after hearing Phichit's words he'd confirmed what he'd been worried for with regard to Katsuki: The distraction of the whole doping debacle _had_ gotten under his skin, and for a moment his focus had been compromised. As a result he'd returned to a very old bad habit; it was something that happened frequently even years after a skater had changed their technique. What Yuri had done in the split-second of time he had to think and correct the error, however, was exceptional.

And as Victor walked out to rinkside, bouncing a few more times to wake up his feet as he'd opted to leave his boots on and tied after warmup, he came to the realization that the means Celestino had led Yuri to by way of dealing with his anxiety had made the Japanese skater ridiculously strong, and these circumstances were, at the end of the day, helping him to add another layer of armor.

As Otabek finished his program, having landed an impressive quad toe-triple toe combination, triple Axel and a quad Salchow that was currently under review for a possible underrotation, Victor suddenly felt that same pounding in his chest again. He had always heard about bravery on the ice being a factor in one's performance, but in Yuri he'd seen it in action.

Katsuki was worthy of Victor's very best, and he intended to give it to him.

Otabek's quad Salchow was ruled underrotated and downgraded to a triple, dropping him to third below Yuri and Chris respectively. Victor stood at the boards before his coach more as a formality than anything at this point; he didn't even pay attention to whatever Yakov growled before he turned to skate out in response to his introduction. He already knew what he had to do.

The ominously-toned “Satellite Debris” fit Victor's current mood perfectly, perhaps more than it had at any other time in the season. The quieter beginning section lent itself perfectly to his focus as he set up for his first jump; despite not having wanted to add it to his arsenal at the beginning of the season, the quad loop was proving to be a necessity he couldn't afford to miss. He felt his body complete the four revolutions a mere half-second before his blade hit the ice, but then the power he'd gone into the jump with threatened to steal the blade from beneath him. His body tensed and he fought hard for the landing, staying on his feet even as his body pitched forward, but not enough to force his hand down to stop it.

Realizing he needed to reign in his adrenaline he forced himself to become more calculated, losing his own battle to not fall back into his own old habits. The crowd applauded enthusiastically as Victor soared up into a textbook triple Axel, landing it clean with a perfectly straight back, hands palms up for a bit of extra flair. As the halfway point of the music passed with the swell into the grandest-sounding part Victor felt his muscle-memory take over to execute the quad flip-triple toe loop, adding an arm up over his head on the second jump for a dash of added difficulty. After that final jumping pass the rest of the program was smooth sailing and before he knew it he'd hit his ending pose, the haze of concentration beginning to dissipate and allowing the roar of the crowd back into his senses. He glided back in to the Kiss & Cry knowing that his program's base value was still a full point beneath what Yuri had put down, but he'd given absolutely all he was capable of.

“You are going to work on the quad loop landing in practice tomorrow. It is still messy,” Yakov growled as they sat down. “And I should have brought Lilia with us, your expression has dropped again. You looked fucking bored out there. Wake the hell up!”

Victor did not look at his coach, nor pretend to care about what he was saying. He'd already felt himself slipping into the cold, calculated Victor Nikiforov he'd been criticized as being while he was on the ice; it had taken over as soon as the prevailing emphasis on winning at all costs had come to the forefront of his mind. As the marks came up everything Victor suspected was confirmed, but with one additional surprise: While the quad loop was ratified as fully-rotated, he'd gotten a negative GOE for the landing, as well as component scores that were a full three points lower than Katsuki.

For the first time in their careers skating against each other, Victor was placed below Chris. The short program ended with Yuri in first, then Chris, Victor, Otabek and Mickey.

Backstage in the television lounge Yuri, Chris and Otabek sat in shocked silence for several moments. As the surprise of Phichit's sixth-place placement was added in Yuri found two conflicting emotions colliding within him: Joy for his rinkmate, who had been working very hard for the results he'd put down and had already improved on his placement from last year's Worlds, and a mixture of sympathy and anger for Victor.

Chris shook his head in confusion and disbelief. “You don't think...”

“The judges make their displeasure known in one way or another,” Otabek said. “He should have had a positive GOE for that quad loop, and his presentation was on par with Yuri's.” The Kazakh nodded to Yuri in a way that said 'no offense'; Yuri shook his head silently to indicate none was taken, as he agreed with Otabek (or more precisely, felt Victor's was better than his own).

“It's not fair. Victor shouldn't be penalized for what Georgi did. But it's not like it's the first time something like this has happened,” Yuri said softly. As a nagging feeling rose up within him that he recognized all too well, he rose abruptly. “I need to find Phichit, he's probably looking for me anyway.”

Chris watched after Yuri as he hurried out of the lounge, his own feelings mixed as well: concern for the Japanese skater who seemed genuinely upset by the results, and anger for his own best friend. Both he and Otabek rose to head over to the mixed area for media interviews while mulling over what their answers to the inevitable string of 'did this week's events affect you at all?' questions would be.

  
  


  
The small medal ceremony was something that wasn't really reported much or at all in the press even though it had been taking place for years. The top three finishers in both the short and the long received a literal “small medal” corresponding to their rank. It had only prolonged the tension that Victor perceived to be hanging in the air after the press conference, though he was uncertain if he was the only one feeling it or not.

Yuri had been rather somber despite the media already celebrating his achievement of the first quad Salchow-triple loop in competition; he'd joked lightly that it might be the only one after explaining how it had come about. The fact that Yuri hadn't been _trying_ to make history was not lost on anyone, and Victor was seeing the tide toward the Japanese skater turn more positive, and rightly so. Even the Russian media representatives had made note of the accomplishment, and Victor noted inwardly with bitterness that they were only being nice to Katsuki now because anything less would look bad for Russia in light of what Georgi had done.

Even though Georgi's actions had produced that unintended positive, it angered Victor that Popovich had no concept of the fact that he'd made it more difficult for Russia as well. Their third skater had bombed his short program entirely, caving under the pressure of being responsible for placing high enough to keep Russia from losing an entry to next year's Worlds; as a result he hadn't even qualified for the free program. Had Georgi kept his mouth shut, he'd have skated in and likely placed in the last group and assured Russia would keep their three spots. And while the other Russian skater had justifiably low marks, a closer look at Victor's had proven what he'd suspected: The judges, which did not include a Russian on the panel, had in Yakov's perception nicked him wherever they could. The marks in both segments of the judging, both TES and PCS were all consistently .1 to .2 lower than they had been all season. As such they'd all piled up and when subtracted, it had docked him just enough to put him in third.

Victor mulled over all of this as he headed into the locker room to finally pack up and head back to the hotel for the night, meeting up with Chris who came from the opposite direction in the backstage area, looking just as exhausted as Victor felt. The pair went to their lockers, with Chris just about to open his when a voice the next row over stopped his hand just short of his combination lock hanging from the handle.

“You have to stop thinking like that, Yuri. None of it is your fault.”

Victor looked at Chris and silently mouthed “Phichit”; the Swiss skater nodded in return.

“It feels like the Olympics all over again,” Yuri replied. “There was no damn reason at all Victor should have been scored that low. Sure Chris' program was flawless and that quad Lutz was freaking _huge_ , holy shit. But Victor's short has been scored higher all season, and suddenly he's getting scores like _that_?”

“But that's still not your fault,” Phichit said. “If the judges are being biased and taking Georgi's stupidity out on Russia through Victor... you still didn't cause that. You're not being rational. You need to calm down because if you panic and freeze up tomorrow...”

“I won't let that happen!” Yuri said, his tone clipped. “I'm just so tired of the drama. Why can't people just let us skate?”

“I don't know. It sucks, I do know that though.”

Yuri sat on the bench with a heavy sigh, zipping up his rolling bag and backpack. “I waited my whole career to be on Victor's level. Worked really hard on fixing everything Komabasu-sensei didn't know how to once Celestino started coaching me. All I ever wanted to do was be worthy of skating on the same ice as him. And I finally reach that, and now there's times like this where I wonder if it was even worth it. Maybe if I hadn't won the Olympics it would be different. But I feel like people think I didn't earn my place because I had the right skate on the right day at the right time. It's like people think all the work I've done never even happened, and someone just waved a magic wand and I became this mortal enemy of the Living Legend. If this keeps up... I honestly don't know how much longer I can stay in.”

In the silence that followed, Victor stared at Chris with wide eyes, both of them pretty certain Phichit's reaction was similar on the other side of the row of lockers.

“Yuri. Honestly, you're just overwhelmed right now, and you know it,” Phichit finally said. “We're one day away from our last competitive skate of the season. Let's just get through it, and get you through the exhibitions. We'll both go home – our real homes, not Detroit – and see our families and recharge. It will all be okay.”

Yuri sighed heavily. “Yeah... you're right. And I'm sure Coach C will have his usual talk with us when we get back and say the same stuff. I guess I just have to get better at handling all this. It's something to work on for the off season with Dr. Jeff too. I've got the on-ice thing figured out. Guess I've still got some holes in the off-ice part.”

“And that's perfectly okay. It's only been a year since Sochi. It's a lot to handle.” Phichit pulled his phone out of his pocket as he heard the text chime he'd set for Celestino go off. “Coach C is wondering where we are. He says there's three shuttles left, we better get going.”

At the sounds of the pair gathering their things Chris and Victor began to move toward the end of the row of lockers opposite the exit. The rumble of Phichit and Yuri's rolling bags pulling out of the row next to where the other pair of skaters hid prompted Chris and Victor to scoot around into the now empty second row, hiding there until they were certain the best friends were gone.

“I'm worried for him, Chris,” Victor said as they went back to gather their own things, hurrying a bit now in order to make it to the final shuttle buses of the night. “Why would he think the way I was marked had anything to do with him?”

“Darling, you need to read up on anxiety. It doesn't take much for someone who deals with it to think like that,” Chris said. “I had a friend who coped with it, or tried to, for a long time before they got help for it. As far as Yuri's brain is concerned, all of this stems back to him –“

“– winning the Olympics,” Victor finished. “For as much as I let myself wallow in self-pity over that, he's been agonizing over it...”

“Because not only did he take the Olympic gold from his idol on home ice, there's constantly been things that he's seeing as hate directed toward him ever since. And Georgi didn't help with that,” Chris said as he pulled on his jacket.

“Dear god, Chris. I just want to talk to him. Yes, I know I shouldn't until this is all over. But... what do I do? What _can_ I do? I feel like I need to help him, fix all this somehow...”

“Cheri, you can't. He's going through the same things you did when you made it to the top. He's just not as good at handling it all, but he'll learn. Maybe once you can talk again, offer to be an ear. Besides, it would be a good way to get his number.”

“Chris! Come on, I'm being serious here!” Victor replied as they hurried out of the locker room at the request of a volunteer who had arrived with a cleaning crew to check things over.

“I know you are. But how can you offer your services as a mentor without contact information?” Chris grinned as they climbed onto one of the two remaining shuttles, which only held a few volunteers whose shifts had concluded.

“I'll worry about that later. Right now, I'm with Phichit in that I just want to get through tomorrow so I can relax. I'm ready for this season to be over. I hope you're up for a summer visitor again, because I really need to get the hell out of St. Petersburg for a good long while.”

“I was going to suggest a vacation,” Chris said as the bus pulled away from the venue. “Somewhere nice and warm, with gorgeous beaches and fascinating culture to explore. Like... I don't know. Japan?” He was prompted to feign passing out as Victor reached up and slapped the back of his head. “Fine, fine. Greece? We can get a place on the water for a couple weeks.”

“Now you're talking,” Victor said. “Let's ditch the free program and go now.”

“As appealing as that sounds... no.”

It was Victor's turn to sigh dramatically. “Fine, fine,” he parroted with a wink at Chris.

“But in all seriousness, we should start looking into it tonight. Once we're done with Victor and Friends, let's disappear for a while,” Chris said. “I definitely think we both deserve it.”

  
  


  
The draw for the long program had put Yuri as last to skate, and he wasn't too thrilled about it. He really just wanted to get this competition done and over with; he'd even contemplated asking Celestino if he could withdraw from the exhibitions so he could just head home to Japan, but changed his mind when he thought about the very large contingent of Japanese fans that were scattered about in the audience. They'd be beyond disappointed, and after the insanity of the week so far, it was the least he could do to end Worlds on a good note.

As he jogged around backstage to keep loosened up he tried to avoid seeing the screens. He didn't really want to know any of the placements of those skating in the final group before him. He needed to tune everything out and just lay down his best. He was fully expecting Victor to come back with a program that they couldn't help but give high marks to, and he hoped the judges had finished making their statements with the scoring from the short program.

He did end up happening to look up as he noticed some activity out of his peripheral vision and saw Mickey, who had drawn second skate, coming in and heading straight into the locker room without speaking to the reporters in the “mixed zone”. That definitely meant his skate hadn't gone well. It also meant that Victor was next, then Otabek, and finally Yuri. Chris had skated first but Yuri had made an extra effort to not hear or see anything about his performance.

Almost at the same moment that Yuri began to think of him, he felt Celestino's hand on his shoulder, the touch careful as while wearing his earbuds Yuri was very easily startled. Celestino mouthed (or actually said them, Yuri just couldn't hear) “less than 10, lace up” and Yuri nodded in response. He looked down to see his coach had brought his skates over from where he'd been watching over them for Yuri at the edge of the warmup area, and took them with a nod of thanks before sitting down to get them on.

An exercise that Yuri had come up with along with his sports psychologist Dr. Jeff was using the lacing up of his skates as part of his mental preparation. They'd sort of likened Yuri's pre-performance anxiety to someone who was worried over whether or not they'd left the oven on, or a hairstyling tool even though they had not; that “something” hanging over one's head that even though they knew they had done it and all was well, they couldn't get it out of their mind and it interfered with whatever they'd gone on to do. After much discussion, Yuri came to the conclusion that if his skates felt good, they rooted him to the ice, and his feet – and mind – felt secure.

With each pull on the laces, each set of eyelets drawn tighter as a result, he visualized his feet getting settled in. These boots would be worn out by the time he was done with the touring he'd do in Japan after Worlds, but he was fortunate that at this point in time, they fit like a second skin and were broken in perfectly. His eyes even drooped to half-closed as he laced them up, feeling each sharp tug set things just right. Finally he came to the four sets of hooks at the top and he visualized the laces crossing, weaving together, hugging his ankle securely. He paused, drew in a few deep breaths as the song he always put on for the process continued in his ears and then proceeded to the other boot, repeating the focusing exercise. Most skaters at his level could lace up in five minutes or less, and if he needed to, Yuri could do that as well. But this was what he needed right now if he was to make it through this final long program of the 2014-15 season.

He rose to stretch, windmilling his arms and arching his spine backwards to open it up, arms wide over his head. As he straightened he looked down and gave each boot, blades still sheathed in their hardguards, exactly three good stomps apiece. He then looked up to see his coach stepping forward, their pre-skate interactions second nature. Yuri pulled out his earbuds, tucking them into his jacket pocket as Celestino placed a hand on each shoulder.

“You've got this. I know how strong you are, and so do you. This is why I know you're going to leave every person out there in awe. There's a new badass in Legend Land and he's about to go two for two.”

Yuri grinned in response. Even if he hadn't been sure of himself in this moment – which he was – Celestino's words would have brought him back to center. There was never a time that his coach didn't let him know how much faith he had in his student, and Yuri knew that without him, he wouldn't be standing where he was right now.

The volunteer came to call them to rinkside and Celestino gave Yuri's shoulder one last hearty pat before letting his skater, the defending World Champion, walk a few paces ahead of him as they headed through the curtains two other volunteers held back for them. Otabek was in the middle of his final element, a very intricate choreographic sequence, but Yuri kept his back to the rink as he finished. The crowd's response was enthusiastic, but Yuri knew the technical base value on Otabek's program was five points below Chris' when skated clean, even when Chris included the quad Lutz which he'd intended to do. With Otabek's presentation still maturing it was likely that Chris, and probably Victor as well, would already be placed ahead of him.

Just as the gate was opened Yuri handed his hardguards to Celestino and stepped out, drawing within and visualizing the program in his head one last time as he warmed up with single jumps. The two Taiko drum pieces that Yuri had combined for his free program, “Biei (Ethereal Flow)” and “Strobe's Nanafushi (Satori Mix)” by Kodo had been favorites of his since he was young, and Celestino had actually used the latter for an exhibition program during his competitive days. It was how they'd come to the mutual decision to use the music, and it had become Yuri's favorite program to date. He did regret a little bit not thinking of it for the previous season when Worlds were in Japan, but there were enough Japan flags waving in the audience right now and Japanese fans likely watching at home to feel the same rush from the two well-known pieces as he did.

Four minutes and twenty seconds to skate. Eight jumping passes, up to three of which could be combinations. Everything else was easy for Yuri. He'd been known for his spins that were Level 4 even when he was in the last year of Juniors, and with his affinity for practicing figures the security of the edges in his intricate choreographic sequences were envied by many.

_Quad toe loop._ The first quad he'd learned while still in Juniors, then lost a few months later as he'd suddenly shot up in height and a full boot size. Now, he almost couldn't remember what it felt like to miss one, save for the occasional time he went into one too fast in practice or warmup and gave himself a reminder. His go-to competition quad, there was something about it that made it very hard for him to miss.

_Back counter-entrance, Triple Axel, back outside spread eagle runout_ . His favorite jump since he'd begun learning them, his first coach had caught him trying it before he'd even mastered the toe jumps. He liked being able to see ahead of him, to attack it head on; it made him feel like a warrior charging into battle. A transition made up of a series of twizzles set him up for the standalone  _quad Salchow. T_ he ice beneath his blades held just the right amount of spring to help him achieve the difficult jump with just the slightest bit of instability on the landing that he reigned in easily.

A few moments to accentuate the delicate flute and soft drums of “Biei” with a required footwork and spin sequence led into a  _quad flip-triple toe loop,_ the transition so flawless it evoked some gasps from the audience when they didn't expect the jump to happen. As the quiet part of the music came to a close he looked back over his shoulder as he approached a corner of the rink and executed a clean  _triple Lutz_ , coming to a stop in a bit of a flirty pose, a soft smile on his face before...

Four sharp downbeats heralded in the second half of the program and Yuri felt the adrenaline break loose and course through him, the driving techno beat mixing with the traditional Taiko drums roaring through the speakers of the venue. Past the halfway point there was a 10 percent bonus added to any jumping pass, and this is where the stamina that Yuri was renowned for kicked in.

_Quad Salchow-double loop._ This time, Yuri decided it wouldn't be a mistake. No jump could be done more than once unless it was in combination, and Yuri had decided to go for broke now that he knew he could land the unusual combination. He wasn't sure he'd keep it in his arsenal forever – after all, a two-edge-jump combination was ridiculously hard on the body as evidenced by the fact that he doubled the loop – but the 10 percent would help him break even in the end.

_Triple Axel-triple toe loop._ His favorite combination that didn't include a quad and perfect for near the end of the program. One more transition into the final jumping pass, the  _triple loop_ , the landing of which melted right into the final circular footwork sequence. Yuri felt his adrenaline running so high he wasn't even sure his blades were on the ice. Even without his glasses he could see through the blur of movement that meshed with his blurred vision that people were beginning to stand, the roar of the crowd more and more deafening by the moment as he went into the final spin sequence. He came to a hard stop by his toepick jamming into the ice, holding his ending pose for  _almost_ the five seconds Celestino had told him to always hold. He then clenched both fists and punched the air as he let out his own roar of triumph mixed with the release of all the stress and frustration of the most difficult week of his career thus far.

As his head cleared and he took his bows, unable to keep from “grinning a fool” as Celestino often said, he made sure to snatch up at least one or two of the plushies thrown to him from amid the myriad that littered the ice. He navigated around them as the sweepers – in this case adorable Novices and Juniors from nearby Chinese skating clubs – gathered up the rest as quickly as they could even though there wasn't a huge rush with Yuri being the last skater. He skidded to a stop in front of Celestino, bowing in the Japanese traditional way of honoring a Sensei then accepting a huge bear hug from his coach that made Yuri laugh with its enthusiasm.

“That's it, it's all over,” Celestino grinned as Yuri put the guards on his blades, then pulled on his Team Japan jacket as they headed to the Kiss & Cry. They sat down to watch the replays, with Celestino pointing out the high level of execution on all of Yuri's elements with more than a bit of pride.

“I think this is literally the best I've ever seen you skate. You turned everything around and let it fuel you, but I didn't think you'd have a rocket up your ass!”

Yuri's eyes went wide for a moment and then they both burst into laughter as Celestino realized what he'd said, the pair still trying to control their laughter as the marks were announced. The crowd went insane as first Yuri's free skate score, then his overall gold-medal-winning score, set new World Records and he was named the winner... and then as the final standings unfurled on the screen in front of them in the Kiss & Cry, to his complete and utter shock, he found Chris in second place, and Victor in third.

“What... what happened to Victor?” Yuri asked as he and Celestino waited in the Kiss & Cry as the staff set up the podium for the medal ceremony.

“Remember that time he went for the quad loop but tripled it, then threw the quad loop in after the second half? Well... this time he tripled it in the first jumping pass, and then again when he tried it at the halfway mark. He also tripled the quad flip. I think he was just about as surprised as you are right now to be honest. And his coach was _not_ happy. For a mere mortal skater, that would have been a fine program outside of the repeated jump. But for Nikiforov... no bueno.”

_Oh dear god. Not again._ At least this time there wasn't a close margin, one that could be questioned, but Yuri felt a heaviness in his chest. He was even more grateful now that he'd decided not to watch Victor's performance, as he wasn't sure how it would have affected him.

Yuri decided to hang back a bit as the lights went down into show lighting mode for the podium ceremony. With the medalists introduced from third to first place, Victor would be going out first. From where he stood in the shadows Yuri watched as Victor walked out from backstage, still holding his head high and... limping? Yes, Victor seemed to be limping slightly on his landing leg as he walked out, stepping onto the ice but gliding a bit carefully as he went to the center of the rink for his bows, then being careful again as he stepped up onto the lowest tier of the podium.

Chris followed, and for all the world seemed to be trying not be too enthusiastic. If Katsuki remembered correctly, this was the first time Chris had ever placed ahead of Victor and even if it wasn't gold, it was a major achievement for Chris and seeing him trying to tone it down on behalf of his friend made Yuri's heart ache a bit. Victor hugged Chris tightly, the two best friends sharing a moment without regard for what the world thought and Yuri was pretty sure this was what it would be like for him whenever Phichit finally made it to podium some day, no matter how they had placed against each other.

All Yuri had to do was step into the spotlight that flooded over the gate to the ice for the crowd to break into a roar, the Japan flags springing up like flowers in spring as he skated to center ice, the announcer practically yelling his name to be heard. He took his bows then made his way to the podium, drawing in a deep breath and stepping onto the carpeting. His own shadow being thrown before him by the spotlight caused him to look down to watch his feet as, following the proper etiquette, he walked up to the Bronze Medalist first.

He looked up to see Victor smiling, his face looking slightly drawn and tired though it could have been the harsh shadows cast by the show lighting and spotlight. Yuri bowed respectfully then accepted Victor's extended hand to shake, feeling Victor place his other hand on top of Yuri's own.

“You were absolutely brilliant, Yuri. Congratulations,” Victor said with a soft, tired smile.

Yuri almost couldn't make his voice work for a moment.  _This is not how it's supposed to be..._ “Thank you, Victor.” He stepped back, uncertain for a moment when Victor held onto his hand a tiny bit longer than was needed before releasing it. He tried not to turn away too quickly to head over to Chris, who leaned down for a handshake as well after Yuri's bow.

“That was quite spectacular, cheri. Toutes nos félicitations,” Chris grinned, shaking Yuri's hand with enthusiasm. Yuri thanked him as well then climbed onto the top step, with the crowd applauding once more.

There were always several parts to the podium ceremonies during which the officials were often introduced, then one person gave each skater flowers, another the medals, and sometimes there were other people to accept congratulations from or take photos with as the three finishers stood in their respective places. Finally after all this the anthem of the winner was played and the flags of the three skaters' countries raised. All of this entailed standing for a bit and even for athletes such as figure skaters, after a long and hard week and sometimes the hardest performance they'd thrown down, all they wanted to do was sit and rest.

That was why Yuri couldn't help but notice Victor in his peripheral vision trying very hard not to shift his weight from one foot to the other during the Japanese National Anthem; if he was in fact injured the concentrated weight on his leg would be difficult to deal with. Once the anthem ended the three skaters grouped on top of the podium for the usual photos, then finally climbed down for their victory lap. Unlike the podium at the Grand Prix Final, both Chris and Victor were rather subdued and Yuri couldn't help but wonder if it was due to Victor's possible injury... or something else...

_No. It's not like that... I hope..._ Yuri tried very hard to keep his smile on full as they made their way around the rink. It felt like an eternity before they made it back to the start and as Yuri paused to accept and put on his hardguards from Celestino, he saw Victor do the same and move off quickly to the backstage area with Chris following behind.

“Is Victor injured?” Yuri asked Celestino as they headed backstage.

“I'm not sure. I noticed him limping when he came out, but he seemed fine when he was done skating. He might have just tweaked something, I'm sure he's fine.”

“But maybe that's why he skated like he did,” Yuri said. “Though he was fine in practice today, aside from... oh shit. Coach Feltsman had him drilling the quad loop. It looked like he was trying to get his landing stabilized...”

Celestino cringed. “Shit. Yeah. We do not discuss loops in this house, remember?” he said, his tone teasing as he winked.

“Oh! Yeah... but that... might explain it. I hope whatever it is, it's not too bad.”

  
  


  
The press conference was the usual mixture of boring and annoying save for the fact that for the first time since the Olympics, the press seemed to have backed off on Yuri. He expected the usual mix of support and barbed questions, but instead was praised for the “new” quad Salchow-triple loop that was the biggest buzz in the skating world and for his commendable resilience “in the face of such a difficult week”. There were periodic moments of surrealism where Yuri wanted to stand up and remind everyone of the two far more experienced men sitting on either side of him, one of which had been in the position he now sat in as a two-time World Champion, and had been hailed as a Living Legend in the making. As the obligations droned on through the small medal ceremony Yuri began to feel like the walls were closing in that much more as he watched Victor graciously accept the bronze small medal, the second small one of the competition and, with the one from the final standings, third overall. If Yuri remembered correctly, Victor hadn't placed third in any competition since before leaving Juniors.

As soon as everything finished Yuri hurried into the locker room, hoping there wouldn't be too many people left milling about. He sat down on the bench in the second row, feeling that overwhelming tightness in his chest, the trembling throughout his body.  _At least it's happening now, when everything is over..._

“– ri! Yuri! Can you hear me?”

Yuri felt a hand rubbing his back between his shoulder blades and realized he'd clamped his eyes shut and covered his ears with his hands, bent over almost double as he'd tried to shut out the world to get a grip on the anxiety attack before it took over completely. He looked up, the sparkles in his vision clearing to find Victor crouched in front of him and Chris on his left, palm rubbing in circles on his back.

“What's wrong Yuri? Do you need me to call medical?” Victor asked. Just then Otabek came into the room and stopped as he sensed something wrong, prompting Victor to look up. “Get Celestino, quick!” he said, and Otabek nodded and hurried out of the room.

“Yuri, you in here?... Oh no!” Phichit rushed over as he saw what was going on, then slowed to a halt and dropped to his knees next to Yuri. Shortly after Otabek returned with Katsuki's coach, prompting everyone to step back as Celestino took over.

“It's okay. You got this. You know where you are?” Celestino asked.

“Yeah, locker room. Worlds. Shanghai.” Victor felt his stomach clench as he realized the gold medal was still hanging around Yuri's neck, along with the small gold for winning the long program.

“It's okay. You're okay. Everything from this week caught up to you, that's all,” Celestino said. He crouched in front of Yuri, gripping his hands. “Breathe in. Slowly. One... two... three... four... five... and out.... one... two... three... four... five. Stay focused on my voice. Keep going.”

Yuri followed the instructions, eyes closed as he listened to Celestino continuing to count in an effort to force him to slow down his breathing. It took several minutes before Yuri's trembling subsided and his color returned.

“Oh god I feel so stupid...”

“Ah ah. Don't do that,” Celestino said. “You did real good out there tonight. On the ice and off it. If you're gonna flip your shit at least it was in here, right?” he continued, smirking as he worked on getting through to Yuri with what appeared to be yet another inside joke between the two.

Victor realized when Yuri returned his coach's smile that he'd been holding his breath. He watched as Katsuki finally relaxed fully, his body looking as if he'd deflated somehow. Phichit had slipped out and returned with a cold bottle of Yuri's favorite sports drink, and soon all concerned breathed a sigh of relief as Katsuki finally returned to full coherency.

“You get your stuff together and we'll get you out of here as soon as we can,” Celestino said. “Have Phichit come for me if you need me, I'll be right out here waiting.”

Victor watched Celestino go, only then realizing he was still crouched on the floor near Yuri. He leaned on the bench and got up with a cringe and groan, sitting at the end a bit down from where Katsuki and Phichit were. Yuri looked around to see who was still there and found only Phichit, Chris and Victor, with Otabek having slipped out with Mickey after making sure all was well.

“I should have known,” Yuri said softly. “I kind of felt it coming since yesterday. I thought I was doing good keeping it from happening...”

“You know that if it's going to it does no matter what,” Phichit said. “Don't worry about it, it's over now and you got through it. Through everything.”

“I just... hate when it happens where people see it and worry about me...”

“Stop that. It's not like you can help it,” Victor said, trying to keep his tone even when inwardly he was a mess of emotions and reeling from relating far too much to some of what he was seeing.

When Yuri looked up at Victor in response, the expression on the Japanese skater's face was nearly heartbreaking, a mixture of remorse and sadness.

“I'm sorry... for being harsh this week, for... for everything...” Yuri said, his voice shaky.

“Yuri...” Victor moved closer then, drawing in a few deep breaths as he struggled to keep his own emotions in check. “Everything that has come to you, you deserve. You clearly don't just fight through what all of us who skate go through every day. You have so much more to deal with, and the fact that you can do both is so admirable. And you're lucky enough to have so many people around you that care about you and support you through everything. Not everyone has that.”

“I... I've always looked up to you... always wanted to be good enough to be on the same ice as you... I just... never thought it would ever be this way and sometimes I just don't know how to feel about it...”

Victor swallowed hard, reaching to wrap an arm around Yuri's shoulders, then deciding to throw caution to the wind and pull the other man into an embrace, which he was relieved to find returned.

“Be proud,” Victor said softly.

  
  


  
Ultimately, it was Victor who withdrew from the Exhibition Gala with a strained thigh muscle that he was pretty certain he'd pulled while pushing himself to work on the quad loop at Yakov's insistence. He did still attend the Gala however, and stood at rinkside to watch Chris' skate, as well as Yuri's performance that closed the event.

The Worlds banquet was always the most fun of the season. With the skaters' competitions done for the year everyone usually allowed themselves to cut loose and really have fun when they had nothing more on their plates save for those who had show tours. Once dinner was over and the presentations and speeches all said and done everyone had begun to mingle, and Victor immediately set off in search of Yuri.

The Russian found the two-time World Champion sitting at the empty Team Japan table scrolling through his phone and made his way over, smiling softly at how different Yuri looked with his slightly shaggy hair down and natural rather than slicked back for competition, and the blue-framed glasses that Victor was sure the rest of the world found extremely nerdy, but he himself found ridiculously adorable.

“Stood up?” Victor smiled as he sat down in the vacant chair next to Yuri, who blinked as he looked up from his phone in surprise.

“Oh, Phichit was going to get us drinks, but knowing him he's off taking selfies with everyone,” Yuri said. “I wasn't really planning to stay much longer anyway. I'm just really tired.”

“Same. Quite honestly, I'm not sorry to see this season go. It's been too much of a roller coaster,” Victor said. “I always thought the year after an Olympics was supposed to be boring.”

“You would think, but people don't retire like they used to,” Yuri said. “There's no year of limbo like I remember there being when I was coming up. Even Celestino talks about it because he was in it at the time before sanctioned events like shows and tours let you earn money while competing.”

“Ah yes, the old 'amateur versus professional' thing. Now it's 'competitive versus professional'. The lines are blurred, but it's a good thing.”

Yuri was quiet for a short while then as he looked around, finally spotting Phichit and Chris talking across the room. “So how is your leg?”

“It will be fine. I just stressed the quad muscle in my landing leg... working on a quad. Appropriate, I guess,” Victor replied.

“I didn't see you skate, but I heard about the long program... were you injured when you went out?”

“It felt tight, and tender. I had gotten it massaged and wrapped by the trainer but there wasn't much they could do for it. It was just enough to cost me my focus. And when I tripled the second quad loop attempt I got hit for that and for repeating a jump. The quad flip was actually before the others, first jump in the program, and I knew something was wrong right away when I did that. It was just one of those times where you know there's nothing you can really do but tough it out.”

Yuri was quiet for a few moments as he seemed to weigh his next words carefully before speaking them. “What you saw in the locker room... I used to try to skate through that, before Celestino got me in with Dr. Jeff. I always thought it was just me, who I was, and I just had to hope I had a day where I wasn't terrified of going out there. It changed everything knowing that wasn't the case.”

Victor tried to wrap his brain around what Yuri had just told him, and found that he couldn't even fathom it... then suddenly realized there had been times he'd fought down the same feelings when he was younger, times when he'd been told to “just get out there and you'll be fine”. He tucked the revelation into the back of his mind for the moment, but knew he'd need to revisit it again in time.

“What was it like, leaving the coach that pretty much raised you in the sport?” Victor asked after debating his own next words carefully.

“It was really hard. He had been my coach since I was around... eight or so? So he was kind of like family almost. He came to my family's onsen all the time, was good friends with my parents and my ballet teacher. But he was actually the one who said he'd done all he could for me. He was supportive but... I honestly think it was more about the anxiety than my skating that he couldn't fix. I think we could have worked out the problems. But mental health isn't addressed the same way in Japan... it's getting better, but I just don't think he knew what to do with me. But he was the first text on my phone when I won at Sochi, and he cried like a baby when I saw him in person when I went home. It helps to know he's proud of me, you know?”

“It definitely does. It always does. And in this sport, you don't always get to hear that from the people you need to.”

“My parents kind of didn't get that. They still kind of don't, but they're more accepting of it now. They used to be kind of hard on me about it, when I didn't always win. My sister follows skating and understood it better and she helped a lot to be sort of a buffer, to explain things to them. But my parents are still a little upset that I deferred college for now. I'll finish it eventually even if it's back in Japan. But... I think I want to try for at least one more Olympics. I don't care if I win again. I just want to have that experience at least once more you know?”

“You're young enough to maybe go to two more, if you can stay healthy. But yes... try for PyeongChang. You would be one of only a very few men that have won back to back golds if you did win.”

“Oh god, I don't even want to think about that!” Yuri laughed.

There was that flutter in Victor's chest again at that laugh, that smile. “Yuri, can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Did I really frighten you in Sochi?”

Yuri drew in a deep breath, followed by a long exhale. “Yeah. I thought you hated me for taking the gold from you in Russia. And there wasn't a lot that was making me feel different from everything I was hearing and seeing. I just... I didn't even think I had a  _chance_ . I just wanted to enjoy it, take in the experience so that if I did make it to the next one, it wouldn't all be so overwhelming. But it was like... if you don't push yourself to do your absolute best, take risks at the Olympics... where can you do it, you know?”

“The only person I hated was myself. It took me a long time to get over it. But it wasn't because of you, or anything you did. I just... had never been taught how to lose. And I didn't know what to do with that, and all I got in response was to be told I had to keep going, try harder to get back on top. And that's still happening now. So I guess... I have some thinking to do, about a lot of things.”

“You're... do you think you're retiring?”

“Mmm... I don't think so. But I may take the time off that I wanted to this season. But I think I figured out why the RSF wouldn't let me. Because you hadn't been in or placed in the top two of the 2013 Final, the ISU were able to put us in the same competitions to cause all the drama we ended up with this year. Now because we were 1-2 at the GPF, we can't be in the same competitions this coming season.”

“So you think they expected us to go 1-2 in some way, whether it was you or me winning?” Yuri said by way of clarification. “It makes sense. But to be honest... no disrespect but... after this season, I'm kind of happy about that. We can both relax and do what we need to do and maybe both enjoy it more next time around, if you do end up staying in.”

“Well... now that you've put it that way, I just might,” Victor smiled. “I'll see how I feel after Victor and Friends. Chris and I are going away on vacation after the tour, and maybe once I've recharged I'll be ready to go back in.”

It was Yuri's turn to feel a bit of a pang in his stomach at the thought of Victor and Chris together, but he pushed it down quickly. “I hope so,” Yuri said, the blush playing over his face causing yet another flutter in Victor's chest. “It just wouldn't be the same without you.”

“And as my biggest fan, how would you feel about it?” Victor said, his tone teasing to cause Yuri to blush that much more fiercely.

“I... always dreaded hearing that you were retiring... especially when I thought it would be because of me, and because of Sochi. But... I think you'd really be missed. At the same time... at the end of the day it's your choice, and no one else can make it for you or make you change it.”

“In theory, anyway,” Victor said. “But I do have a lot to think about.” He was quiet for a few minutes, with Yuri glancing around the room until he found Phichit and Chris again, as well as Celestino who had been involved in a rather long conversation with Otabek, who had ended up in fourth place overall. “Say, what are you doing for the off-season? Would you like to join us on Victor and Friends?”

Yuri blinked at that. “Oh! I... I really wish I could, but I've got Stars on Ice Japan and then Fantasy on Ice to do. In between I'm doing a teaching seminar tour that my main sponsor Mizuno is hosting in some of the cities that have JSF rinks in Japan. So I'm pretty busy unfortunately. But if I know enough ahead of time, I can maybe do it next year.”

“We'll pencil it in, how's that?” Victor said.

“Sounds good.”

“Is there... any way we can keep in touch? Are you on any social media?” Victor asked.

“No... I try to stay away from all that. My fans lose it when I turn up on Phichit's Instagram. But reading what people say online isn't really good for me, so Dr. Jeff advised against it at least until I retire from competition. It's easier to stay away from news sites and stuff if you don't have a reason to get online to check your socials.”

“I see, that makes sense. Well...” Victor reached for a cocktail napkin, then felt around in the pockets of his suitcoat for a pen.

“Here,” Yuri said, unlocking his phone and opening a blank contact, then handing it to Victor. “Just put it in there. That way I won't lose it.”

Victor had a very hard time holding in the grin that threatened to spread across his face as his heart started thumping against the inside of his chest in that way for the first time in the last several days. He entered in all his contact information and hit 'save', then handed the phone back to Yuri. After Yuri did something on his phone for a few moments, Victor heard his chime and saw it light up with a Japanese phone number and name.

“There's mine,” Yuri said. “Though I can't promise I'll always get back to you. Phichit even yells at me sometimes because I see the messages, then get busy and forget to answer.”

“That's fine,” Victor said, looking over as two staff members drew closer, clearing tables as the party wound down. “But at least I can say hi now and then.”

“Just remember the time differences,” Yuri said as they both rose and began walking toward the exit. “I don't like missing sleep and you might get an angry emoji in response.”

“Oh dear, I'll remember then,” Victor said. “I mean, I've seen you angry. If anyone should be afraid, it's me!”

“That's right. I'm Japanese, that means I'm a ninja by default.”

The deadpan, faux-serious tone Yuri used to throw out the joke was probably the thing that made Victor crack up the most. “You... did...  _not...”_

Yuri broke into a smile then and shrugged innocently. “Just sayin'.”

Victor stepped forward then, this time not hiding his grin as he extended a hand to Yuri. “Keep in touch, okay? Don't be a stranger. And good luck on your tour. I hope you get some time at home to relax.”

Yuri took Victor's hand and returned the gentle shake. “You too. Maybe someday you and Chris can make it to Hasetsu in the off-season. I think you'd like the onsen and my family would love to have you.”

“We'll make it happen,” Victor said, releasing Yuri's hand. Just then Phichit and Chris, the latter perhaps past the reasonable quota for glasses of champagne, came over to join their respective best friends.

“Oh great, I have to make sure this idiot doesn't pass out in the elevator,” Victor laughed as Chris draped an arm around him to steady himself. “That's my cue to say goodnight.”

Yuri couldn't help but laugh. “At least this one's too young to drink alcohol yet! And he never did bring our sodas back with him,” he said with a fake scowl at Phichit who offered an “oops” in response. “Anyway... I hope the tour goes well, and enjoy your vacation. And... it was great talking to you.”

“You too, Yuri. Take care.”

“You too, Victor.”

  
  


  
Yuri, Phichit and Celestino had parted ways upon getting to the airport in Shanghai, with Phichit on his way back to Bangkok for a bit, Celestino heading back to Detroit, and Yuri on his way to Hasetsu by way of Fukuoka. Yuri now sat near the Japanese pair team who were also on his flight, scrolling through Instagram as he waited for boarding. He had to smile as he found Victor's account, where the Russian had posted a selfie he'd taken with Yuri while everyone had been milling about before the banquet had begun with the caption “Friends are always better than enemies.” Just below it was a post from Phichit of a selfie he and Chris had taken together during their conversation, with Chris already looking tipsy and leaning in to pretend to lick Phichit's ear. He was just about to put his phone away as he noticed boarding time drawing near, when he heard a text tone he'd assigned to someone in particular that prompted him to check one last time.

**Victor:** Just wanted to say have a safe flight one more time. Hope to talk to you soon. 😉

Yuri smiled, feeling yet another flush over his face as he typed a reply just as the call went out for his flight to board.

**Yuri:** Same here. Feel free to bug me if I forget, because I might. 😂 Take care.

As Yuri gathered up his things to board his flight, across the airport Phichit was getting ready to do the same when he heard the text tone he'd assigned to Chris sound. He pulled the phone out of his pocket quickly, heading straight to his messages.

**Chris:** Oh, one more thing that I forgot to mention. Guess what Victor told me?

**Phichit:** What?

**Chris:** They exchanged digits. THEY. EXCHANGED. DIGITS.

Phichit was pretty sure he got some strange looks from the passengers waiting nearby for the squeal that escaped him. As his flight was called for boarding, he fired off one last text before packing up to leave.

**Phichit:** YASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS OMG MISSION. ACCOMPLISHED. 🎉 Yuri's gonna hear it from me, that brat didn't tell me!!! Next season is going to be VERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRYYYY interesting!!!!!!!!!

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you're wondering, yes, a Salchow-loop combination is possible. Evgenia Medvedeva [did one in her free program at Worlds this year.](https://twitter.com/rockerskating/status/1109058732497891329) It probably won't be long before someone tries a quad Salchow version, maybe even Zhenya as she's talked about trying for a quad Sal of her own to compete with the quad girls coming up in the fall. (Or someone may already have, but this was the only one I could verify in a quick search.)
> 
> Hopefully the length of this chapter makes up for being a bit late with it. I wanted to wrap up this part of the story so rather than split it into two chapters, I opted for one longer one. It might seem like an ending but it's not -- there's quite a bit more to come. 😁


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Victor's tolerance of the image those around him and the skating world as a whole has cultivated for him reaches its tipping point.

**Spiral Sequence – Figure Skating Reporting with an Edge** by Nicky Gontcharov

It's really hard to believe, but the 2015-16 figure skating season is nearly half over already. Last season provided a wealth of drama and things to watch for, but this season has been rather quiet by comparison. With the 2015 Grand Prix Final upon us, let's take a look back at all that's gone on to get us to this point.

[snip]

**Men's Singles**

And now the part you've probably skipped the rest of the article to read first: The Men's Singles discipline. The majority of the drama concerning this season actually happened during the off-season months, with a bunch of movement in the area of coaching. Leo de la Iglesia's coach Rowan Warden moved her home base to the Detroit Skating Club, where Celestino Cialdini is building up a pretty great team, so Leo followed her. She is originally from nearby Ann Arbor, and Cialdini and Ward both competed for the US and are very good friends. Leo is considered to be the USA's best hope for the next Men's superstar, and training with Olympic and two-time World Champion Yuri Katsuki certainly can't hurt.

Another surprise coaching change came in the form of Otabek Altin, who connected with Celestino Cialdini in the off-season after a conversation at the Worlds Banquet. Altin said he felt stalled with his former coach, and when a spot opened up at the DSC, Cialdini took him on. The Kazakh skater is now being attended to by both Cialdini and his coaching team member Satsuki Muramoto who came to the rink with rising Thai star Phichit Chulanont. Altin, you might recall, when asked about the false doping scandal at this past season's Worlds stuck his neck out and vouched for Yuri Katsuki, so I'm sure that made the decision easy for Cialdini. Otabek's presentation as well as technique, especially on his quad Salchow which is Katsuki's trademark jump, has improved by leaps and bounds and he's made it to the Final just eight months after changing coaches, which is impressive in and of itself.

Speaking of said scandal, the six-month suspension by the ISU for filing a false report given to Georgi Popovich was the least surprising thing that happened in the off-season. Popovich was allowed to continue training, but not allowed to enter any ISU competitions from the calendar start of the season, July 1, 2015 to January 31, 2016. This takes him out of the Grand Prix Series and Euros, but he will still be able to compete at Russian Nationals which will more than likely earn him one of the two spots for 2016 Worlds.

The opening at the DSC came in the form of Jean-Jacques Leroy (or, more specifically, his parents) pulling out, with said parents opting to coach him themselves in his hometown of Montreal. There had been rumblings out of DSC for months that JJ was quite disruptive and didn't take Cialdini's or his coaching team members' directions seriously. The move happened after several unconfirmed reports of a falling-out between Cialdini and JJ's parents, rumors of which were compounded when at least two other former coaches of the Canadian wiz kid confirmed that both JJ and his parents were “difficult” to work with. Nevertheless, it would seem the Leroys, former ice-dance partners for Canada, probably should have been coaching JJ from the beginning as he's made it to his first senior Grand Prix Final this year.

But perhaps the most insane thing that happened in the off-season was Victor Nikiforov announcing that he was moving his training base to Lausanne, Switzerland, specifically the rink of his long-time best friend, Swiss National Champion and Olympic and World Silver Medalist Christophe Giacometti. While he is still officially being coached by Yakov Feltsman (I wouldn't be surprised if the RSF gave him a hard time on that front as they have to approve coaching changes), he cited a “less than favorable training environment” as his reason for changing rinks. He is currently communicating with Feltsman via Skype a few times a week but essentially training on his own, with input from Giacometti's coach Josef Karpisek whose style is very similar to Russian coaching. The move has appeared to be a positive one so far, as after recovering from the quad muscle strain that caused him to drop to third at Worlds this year, Nikiforov has taken gold in both of his Grand Prix events with a definite return to form. Giacometti has also made it to the Final and his quad Lutz has become the gold standard, with several skaters now trying what is likely to remain the Swiss skater's signature jump and the the most difficult quad until someone is crazy enough to attempt a quad Axel.

Michele Crispino, along with his twin sister Sara who I've talked about in the Ladies section, has also made it to the Final again this season. Both siblings are powerhouse jumpers, but Michele still seems to lack a consistent quad that isn't a toe loop, though he's been giving the Sal a shot in every long program thus far this year with pretty much a 50/50 split on success. He's most likely a dark horse, but I wouldn't count the scrappy Italian out because he's pulled off some amazing comebacks in the past.

And then we have Yuri Katsuki. Who would have thought before the Sochi Olympics that I would have been writing about anyone other than Victor Nikiforov at the top of the sport nearly two years later? While the rules of the Grand Prix Series have kept the two rivals from competing at the same events, Katsuki hasn't let anyone off easy. He's been working on quad loops in practice and competition warmups and also rumored to be trying a quad Lutz, but as of now still hasn't done either of them in competition with Cialdini deeming his success rate too low on the loop to attempt it. Katsuki's only reportedly done the Lutz on the DSC ice, with only Twitter hearsay from DSC skaters as any indication he's been giving the jump a shot. Nikiforov has his quad loop on lock after the inconsistency of last season, so with the Final being their first meeting this season I would give Nikiforov a  _ slight _ edge – unless of course Katsuki pioneers another insane jump combination after making the quad Salchow-triple loop his secret weapon in this past Worlds. He hasn't used it in competition since, but he may need to against Nikiforov. Katsuki won gold in both of his GP events and shows no signs of letting up on his reign whatsoever.

And there you have it folks. The 2015 Grand Prix Final is looking absolutely insane, and I fully expect to be on the edge of my seat for the Men's event especially. The irony of the event being held in Sochi in the same rink as the Olympic figure skating events on top of it being the first meeting of Katsuki and Nikiforov of the season is not lost on anyone. Russian fans especially are calling it Nikiforov's “redemption” competition with the general feeling that the Russian Living Legend knocking Katsuki down below the top step of the podium would be a sweet bit of vindication.

  
  


  
  


Victor had just finished reading the Spiral Sequence overview of the first half of the season and was shaking his head in disbelief. He had thought that not having a competition against Yuri until the Final (which had only been confirmed the week prior after Victor's final competition of the Grand Prix Series) would cause the perceived rivalry in the skating fandom to die down, but it had only done the reverse. Chris, however, seemed unfazed by the excitement over the Final being on the same ice that Katsuki had “stolen” the Olympic gold from Nikiforov.

“I quite honestly wouldn't let it get to you,” Chris said. “He's a good skating journalist, but he prides himself on being a little bit of an instigator and catering to Skating Twitter's penchant for fan wars. I would classify the rivalry as friendly, and even go so far as to say that if you're asked. Clearly you're on at the very least friendly terms with Yuri, there's no real reason to deny it.”

“Well no. But honestly I hadn't realized how much it looked like that over the course of last season,” Victor replied as he continued his cooldown laps with Chris. “When I went back to watch videos on YouTube and saw how much we both went out of our ways to avoid each other, when it was really mostly giving each other space, it only added fuel to the fire until I posted that selfie from the Worlds banquet. And even then, it pissed off half of Russia that I was being friendly with him, and some the Japanese fans were expressing concerns that I'd turn on him. And now with this being in Sochi... god, I'm not looking forward to it at all.”

“I can only imagine what kind of a snit Yakov will be in,” Chris said as the pair got off the ice and sat down to change out of their skates.

“Truth be told, I might as well be coaching myself right now,” Victor said. “I send him videos and all he replies with is 'fine', 'good', or 'that looks like shit fix it'.”

“Is he still pulling the 'you are betraying your mother country' crap?”

“Pretty much. He's demanded that since Nationals are in St. Petersburg in January that I go back there after the Final and stay till they're over. He says he'll get the RSF involved if I don't. I guess I can deal with three weeks, but I'm going to stipulate that I don't want to be in the same practice sessions as Georgi. He was half the reason I left, because if I heard one more sarcastic remark about his suspension which he brought on himself, he was going to end up with my hardguard shoved up his ass.”

“Well, he had to vent in some fashion about the fact that Katsuki told them he didn't feel a year off was warranted. Quite honestly Yuri handled things a lot better than he could have. I'm not sure I'd have been as gracious.”

“I asked Yuri about it. All he'd really say was that he understood how the stress of the sport can change people. But I do believe you're right about Georgi being galled at the fact he was nice about it. But even so, it made for a terrible atmosphere... well, on top of what was already there.”

“How are things going with petitioning the RSF to change coaches?”

“I'm getting a lot of pushback. I'll probably be in this situation for at least the rest of the season, but I do believe the fact that I'm still skating well and winning even with not training there full time could get me some leverage. I'm sure winning the Final and Worlds would help immensely, aka, beating Yuri.”

“Well I'm sure Josef would take you on, he's only got three elites, myself included. Unless you have someone else in mind,” Chris said.

“Right now I just want to get the go ahead to find another coach,” Victor said. “Then I'll think about who it will be.”

  
  


  
  


Yuri rose from yet another fall with an exasperated sigh, then skated over to the boards where Celestino was watching, hand braced on his chin.

“Okay so I'm thinking you are pretty close with the quad loop. You can train it at the Final practices and we'll see how it goes there. If you're feeling good about it we can put it in as a variation to the planned content. But you're nowhere near as close with the Lutz. Your Lutz edge is always clean on the triple, but you're flutzing like crazy on the quad on top of having a _maybe_ 20% success rate. I'm calling it, drop it out of practice for now. I don't want you wasting practice time on a jump you're probably not gonna use for a while yet,” Celestino said.

Yuri had been chugging down most of his bottle of water as he listened, then set it down with another sigh. “I kind of figured as much,” he said. “The loop is okay right now, but I feel like it might still be a gamble in competition. And I can feel myself changing edges on the Lutz, which is really frustrating because why would I do that when I fixed that so long ago on the triple?”

“Old habits are the most comfortable thing to slide back into when you're learning something new. I used to do the same thing. My mind went through a process of 'ok, I'll learn it the old way and then fix it, because that worked before'. But no, you wanna learn it right from the ground up. Even so, it's a beast of a jump to make into a quad. There's a reason Giacometti is the only one who's landing the quad Lutz right now, and he's been working on it for how long?”

“He said about five years, and he just really started landing them cleanly last season,” Yuri said. “We talked a bit about it when he and Victor showed up for the Osaka weekend of Fantasy on Ice shows.”

“Yeah, and I'm of the mind that you've got time yet. The next Olympics aren't till 2018. There's no sense worrying about the quad Lutz in the middle of the season. Let's work up to it slowly here and there, and attack it full-on in the off-season.”

Yuri nodded as the Zamboni making its way onto the ice prompted him to look at the time. “I think I'm going to stop on the loop for today too,” he said as he came off the ice, sliding on his hardguards. “I just want to run my programs in the afternoon session and get them as tight as I can.”

“That sounds like a good plan. Sometimes if you leave things to sit, you come back to them and they're easier. And besides, you're putting in an extra Saturday practice before we leave on Sunday, so I think it's a good idea to back off, maybe even just do doubles and triples for the runthroughs. Let's start tapering off and tomorrow for that extra morning session, just mark out everything. One more day of training jumps isn't going to make a difference. You'll be fine, and not wearing yourself out, especially when there will be jet lag to deal with, is much more important.”

Yuri made his way to the locker room to change out of his skates, then headed to the cafe in the DSC complex to meet up with Phichit and Leo. The atmosphere had changed for the better with Leo around and the trio had become inseparable, with Leo temporarily staying in Phichit and Yuri's apartment until his own opened up in their building come January.

“Oh here comes Yuri, he's gonna be annoyed,” Leo said, at which Phichit gave him a stern look. The Thai skater had been continually annoyed himself over Leo not having a filter with anything that might trigger Yuri's anxiety was concerned, at least not yet.

“Annoyed about what?” Yuri said as he sat down with his tray at their table.

“Spiral Sequence is at it again,” Phichit said with a bit of a resigned tone. “The guy's a Russian that lives in the US now and he's been playing up the whole rivalry thing a bit and talking about Victor's 'redemption'.”

“I knew that would happen. Ever since Sochi was announced as the location of the GPF no one has been able to let it go. I'm trying not to think about that part of it though. Victor said to treat it like any other venue. That's what he's doing,” Yuri said. “I have been trying really hard to not listen to or read anything, because it just aggravates the crap out of me at this point.”

“I tried telling _this one_ that,” Phichit said, cocking a thumb toward Leo, who hunkered down in his seat with a guilty expression.

“Eh, it's whatever. I've been working with Dr. Jeff on it, and Victor's been texting me every few days too. He's fed up with it as well. We've both come to the same conclusion, whatever happens, happens. We're evenly matched. Even if I can't land the quad loop, I've got other combinations that can make up the points. All we can do is our best, and then the judges can have their fun.”

“Oh shit, I hadn't thought about the judges. In _Russia_ ,” Phichit said.

“Yeah, to be honest Victor and I are expecting some bullshit,” Yuri laughed. “Because you know that's what is going to happen.”

“Really? You don't think you're gonna win?” Leo said.

“Oh well, I always _believe_ I can win, at least now I do,” Yuri said. “But Victor and I are just preparing for everything. Personally I think it would be pretty blatant if it happened a second time in reverse, where the judges came for me. But there's been people noticing that Japan's skaters aren't getting the PCS they should be this season, so anything's possible.”

“Man, sometimes it feels like being on top isn't even worth it,” Leo said. “I'm so stressed about Nationals. The US media is going nuts about me after how I did in my two GP events even though I didn't make it to the Final. Everyone keeps saying I'm gonna win the Nats gold.”

“You can't let that get to you,” Yuri said. “I used to. If you let everyone else's expectations outweigh your own, you'll be too heavy and fall. You have to be strong in body and light in mind to do your best. If you don't have either one or neither, you won't make it. Stop reading everything, especially fan gossip. It never helps, trust me.”

  
  


  
  


As soon as the shuttle bus from the hotel pulled up to the skaters' entrance at the Iceberg Palace in Sochi, Russia, Yuri felt a sense of nostalgia hit. The city felt familiar, though a lot less busy than during the Olympics, and this time he was at a hotel downtown rather than the Olympic Village. But the venue itself held memories that he hadn't really thought too deeply about until now. Despite everything he'd been through since that one event nearly two years prior, he'd found that Coach C had been right about one thing: You never forget your first Olympics. Even just the sight of the venue had made Yuri want to jump right onto the ice and skate.

The feeling was replaced a few moments later when he saw the cameras and a group of fans waiting, lining each side of the pathway to the entrance, with a bit of apprehension. This was either going to be easy, or intimidating. Luckily Yuri had prepared for both, but the reassuring hand of his coach on his shoulder as they rose from their seats helped that much more.

Even so, Katsuki was surprised at the cheering that greeted him when he stepped off of the bus, the television cameras from various countries pointed at him. The fans were all Russian, but they were being exceptionally welcoming to the point that a few of them were holding up miniature versions of the banners sold in Japan with Yuri's name in both English and Japanese. He reached up and pulled down the surgical-style mask he always wore when traveling in an attempt to stave off catching any illnesses, smiling warmly then waving before heading inside.

Yuri and Celestino parted ways as the coach went to a judges' meeting that took place before the men's practice began, and Yuri went to the locker room to get settled in and start his warmup. Travel had kept him off the ice for a full day and a half and he was itching to get started and see if the ice felt the same as it had the last time he'd been on it. He went to the locker he was assigned and sat down on the bench to begin unpacking, pausing to check his phone and answer a text from Phichit before he got started.

“Yuuuuuuriiiiiiiii!!!”

He couldn't help but break into a smile at the singsongy call of his name; he'd gotten used to it as he'd heard it each time he'd received a phone call or FaceTime from the one speaking it. “Hey Victor!” Yuri grinned, standing up to greet the Russian by returning his hug, then also the same to Chris who'd arrived with him.

“How are you doing?” Victor said, scanning the wall of lockers and finding his five down from Yuri's.

“Not bad. The flight was kind of long but I slept for most of it. We only got here around midnight last night so I haven't had a lot of time to take it all in,” Yuri said as he checked through his skate bag to make sure he had everything he needed for the day.

“You didn't have any problems did you?” Victor asked. “I saw the fans coming in, we were on the shuttle bus behind yours.”

“Oddly enough I seem to have some Russian fans, who'd have thought!” Yuri grinned, evoking a laugh from Chris. “They were even holding my banners from Japan.”

“A lot of the time it's a very small but very vocal group that ends up speaking for all the fans,” Chris said. “I think it's nice that they went out of their way to make sure you felt welcome.”

“Yeah, it did help,” Yuri said, becoming distracted at some shuffling by the door. “Oh hey Beka, sorry we got separated, they had me go on Bus #1.”

“It's all right, I was talking with our ladies' skater and got behind,” Otabek said, greeting Victor in Russian and saying hello to Chris. “Coach Satsuki was with me.”

“So how are you enjoying Detroit, Beka?” Victor asked.

“It took some getting used to, it's my first time being in the US for more than just a competition,” Otabek replied. “But Yuri, Phichit and Leo have helped a lot. The atmosphere is different, I've always been very serious when I practice. But I'm learning that it's okay to have fun sometimes as long as you work hard.”

“I had to get that through to this hardhead too,” Chris said as he playfully whapped the back of Victor's head, mostly disturbing his hair than making any actual contact.

“Russian coaches tend to make it all about business,” Victor agreed. “It's not playtime on the ice. And when you've been in that atmosphere so long, it's hard to change how you think.”

“And how have you been doing in Switzerland?” Otabek asked.

“I'm more relaxed, or trying to be,” Victor said. “To be honest in the last year or so, I've been feeling like Yakov doesn't have much left to show me. And he's been busy with Mila who just turned Senior this year, and of course Georgi, oh and his new Junior Grand Prix Final Champion Yura. It's nice to feel like you're not just there to give your coach points on his resume.”

“Hiiiiii everyone! Yuri, long time no see!”

“Hey JJ,” Yuri said as the Canadian came in, his tone a bit flat. “How's being back home treating you?”

“It's nice. I missed the food, and my fans, and my band, and pretty much everything. And they let the fans come in and watch the practices so it's not so quiet in the rink. You know what they say, there's no place like home!” And after flashing a grin JJ read over the locker numbers, disappearing around the corner as his turned out to be in the second row. It was all Victor could do to not burst out laughing as Yuri rolled his eyes and gave a dismissive wave in the general direction of where JJ had gone. Just then Mickey came in with his usual scowl, gave a curt hello and went over to the second row of lockers as well, with Otabek doing the same.

“Well someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed,” Chris said softly.

“He's always been like that since Juniors,” Yuri murmured. “His sister got all the nice personality traits in the twin deal.” Victor again tried very hard not to laugh at that.

“You're full of piss and vinegar today,” Victor said.

“I'm just trying to stay positive,” Yuri replied. “Coach C and I had a long talk on the flight about how to handle everything here. It might be a little dicey in places, so I'm just going to do my best to be polite. No sense in giving anyone more reasons to be snarky you know?”

“I think that's a good attitude to have,” Chris nodded. “We'll just do our thing and let everyone else have at it.”

“Besides, the only place we really have to be enemies is on the ice,” Victor said. “I've been working very hard on remembering that at the end of the day, it's just sport. And someday we'll all be on an even playing field, when we're all retired and doing shows. Being away from an atmosphere that doesn't separate the two at all has helped me get a bit more perspective.”

“That's how Coach C sees stuff too,” Yuri said as the trio headed out to the warmup area.

“We're here for a good time, not a long time,” Chris said. “Might as well enjoy it as much as we can.”

  
  


  
  


The one thing about the Final that all six men liked was that there was only one practice group for the two singles disciplines, as there were only six skaters in both the men's and ladies fields. The first official morning practice had been quiet, with very few spectators as it was in the middle of a weekday. It had given the men a chance to feel out the ice and do runthroughs without a lot of interruptions.

But as they all walked out to rinkside for the evening practice, they found it to be the polar opposite. The arena was about two-thirds full of spectators with more coming in as the Zamboni did its final circuit of the rink. The media pit was also full, with ultra-zoom lenses bristling out of the long line of photographers. As if there were some unspoken rule to adhere to, all six men's faces faded into “game on” mode, each of them moving a few paces away from each other and retreating into their own preparations. Very often the competition began in the practice sessions, and at the Final, the mood shifted from cordial to intense rather quickly.

As they were called onto the ice for warmup and each man introduced individually, Yuri felt the tension begin to rise. For as much as he'd come to get along with Chris and Victor, and also Otabek now that they were training mates, on the ice what Victor had said earlier became that much more accurate. There was something about being in the rink, under the microscope of the fans, media and officials even in the practices that for those 40 minutes or so made one forget all friendships and set one's mind toward the competition ahead.

The warmup ended and practice began with the runthroughs in order of the draw that had been done earlier that day, which meant JJ went first. Yuri headed over to the boards to check with Celestino, then moved to a patch of ice to work on some spins to warm up more and keep clear of JJ as he skated.

The feel of the practice during the runthroughs was all business as Chris and Mickey went next in turn. Having drawn fourth to skate, with Victor fifth and Otabek last, Yuri was beginning to feel the exhaustion setting in as he began his program. While putting a good amount of energy into all of his non-jumping elements, he opted to double his triple Axel and triple his planned quad flip as well as the quad Salchow in the Sal-toe combination. As he made his way back to the boards while Victor started his program, he could see the concern on Celestino's face.

“You're looking tired. Take it easy for the rest of the practice, or if you want to end now you can go. Otabek's feeling pretty tired too,” Celestino said.

“I think I might,” Yuri said. “The nap this afternoon helped but it's hitting me now. I'm usually okay but getting in so late last night because of that connecting flight delay didn't help.”

“Follow your gut. Twenty-ish more minutes on the ice between tonight and 11 am practice tomorrow is not going to change anything. I'll call it officially so you don't have to worry about it. Get yer ass of the ice,” Celestino said with a wink and smile that made Yuri smile in return.

After he came off the ice and put on his blade guards Yuri paused to watch the rest of Victor's runthrough. The Russian also opted to do triples in place of his two planned quads, the standalone quad loop and the quad flip-triple toe loop combination, and a double Axel instead of a triple. Of all the skaters, Chris, Mickey and Victor had the advantage of basically no jet lag due to the time zones they'd come in from and it showed as while not going full out, all three men had looked equally strong.

After Victor finished and took his bows, Yuri skated to center ice to do the same one last time by way of excusing himself from practice early, another bit of skating etiquette. He headed to the backstage area to stretch and wind down as Otabek took the ice, and he'd just finished packing up his skate bag when the rest of the men came into the locker room at the end of the practice session.

“Are you all right Yuri?” Victor asked as he sat down to change out of his skates.

“Yeah, just tired. We got in so late last night because one of our connecting flights was delayed, and I didn't get to sleep till probably close to 03:00 in the morning. Coach C gave me the option to skip the evening session but I knew if I did the media would have made something of it, so I wanted to at least put in an appearance.”

“I did notice Otabek marked out all but the combo in his runthrough as well, and even then he tripled the quad on the front end of that. I can't say I blame you both,” Chris said.

“Especially since half the field doesn't have jet lag,” Yuri smirked. “No fair guys.”

“Shhh, don't let anyone hear you making excuses now,” Victor said in a mock serious tone.

“Ohhhh right right,” Yuri laughed.

“So wait, where is the invincible, stamina for days Yuri Katsuki?” JJ interrupted as he came in. “Feeling your age a bit?”

Victor's eyes narrowed at the cocky tone of the youngest member of the men's field. “Didn't you come from the same time zone as they did?”

“Well yeah, but I've been here since Sunday night. Coach C always cuts things too close. It was one of the reasons we decided things weren't working out,” JJ replied.

“So you're saying you're not lagged at all... when you were the only one to mark out _all_ your jumps in your runthrough tonight, and mostly worked on spins and transitions the rest of the time?” Chris said with a smirk that he didn't even attempt to veil. “As I recall, Yuri landed two quad loops and a quad Sal before his runthrough. I think I _might_ have seen one or two quad toes from you in 40 minutes.”

“Well my mom – I mean my coach said I should take it easy,” JJ stammered. “Anyway I gotta go cool down.” He then disappeared behind the second row of lockers, changed out of his skates into sneakers, and hurried out of the room.

“I can see why he's been through so many coaches,” Chris said as he stretched his legs with a few lunges. “He's way too cocky for being that young.”

“I didn't really talk to him much so I'm not totally sure what his deal is,” Yuri said. “But it's a lot quieter around the rink now. He used to stress out Muramoto-sensei so much because he'd always want to do things 'JJ Style', whatever that meant. She'd always end up going to Celestino and asking him to take over for the session.”

“Let's give him a week with Yakov, that will straighten him out,” Victor laughed. “Although the new junior we have, Yuri Plisetsky, was testing Yakov's patience even while I was still there. He might be even more insolent.”

“Well that's confusing, two Yuris,” Chris said. “How long before he goes Senior?”

“He turns 15 on 1 March,” Victor said, “so he'll be a Senior for 2016-17 if he passes his test during the off-season, which he most likely will. He's already got all the triples and was working on quads this past summer. I've been calling him Yura.”

“I watched the Junior Grand Prix Final,” Otabek, who had been listening in while packing up his things, added in. “He's definitely going to make some waves, at least until his body changes.”

“Puberty is always a bitch,” Victor said.

“God yeah,” Yuri noted. “And so are late growth spurts, which happen a lot.”

“Well, let's worry about this season first,” Victor said, stifling a yawn into his sleeve. “I'm really glad our practice isn't until 11:00 tomorrow morning. Even without jet lag, it's been a long day. And tomorrow is only going to be more exhausting because we have to pretend we want to kill each other.”

Yuri laughed at that as he shouldered on his backpack. “That's right. Just don't take it personal when I ignore you or give you the Stare of Death.”

“Same, same,” Chris grinned.

“Oh, because you're _sooooooo_ threatening Chris,” Victor laughed.

As the group began to head out of the locker room to catch the shuttle to the hotel Mickey pushed past them with his usual grumpy face, offering only a curt nod as Otabek stepped aside to let him through. “Or you can just ask him how he looks like that all the time,” the Kazakh said with a gesture of his head over his shoulder.

“Beka, I think that rowdy bunch in Detroit is rubbing off on you, and I'm not sure how I feel about it,” Chris laughed.

“Oh I don't know, I think it sounds like a lot of fun,” Victor said.

“Honestly I think you'd fit right in Victor,” Otabek said as they walked out of the back entrance to the waiting buses, a small smile crossing his face as Yuri's face flushed over in reaction to his words as they trailed behind Victor and Chris. On the other hand, Chris made note of the very similar flush that crossed Victor's face that the Russian did his best to hide by hurrying to board the bus a pair of steps ahead of the rest of the group.

  
  


  
  


“Gentlemen, you may begin your warmup.”

The tension in the arena was probably the highest and most oppressive Victor had ever felt. He had never skated in a competition warmup this quiet, and knowing the majority of the spectators were Russian didn't help. As he went through his usual warmup routine he realized that he hadn't been nervous for the Olympics in this same rink, in Sochi, at all – but in retrospect, it wasn't in a good way. It hadn't been confidence that caused the absence of nerves; rather, it had been _over_ confidence gained after having it drilled into him that absolutely no one could beat him. That he could just be Victor Nikiforov, the skater that was being heralded as the next Living Legend of the sport, and get the marks he deserved.

But now, as Victor looked over during a break to catch his breath at Yuri working on first triples and then a few quads, he realized how completely insane that had been. It had instead set him up for the mental nosedive he'd taken after the Olympics. Being taught to believe he was invincible had only made the fall from grace, however artificial said grace had been, that much harder on impact.

And now, as he watched Yuri attempt and land a quad loop with a bit of shakiness to it, he felt himself become resentful of the fact that the only people in the arena that had applauded the jump were mostly, at a glance as he glided around, Japanese. In Japan and most other countries all great performances were celebrated, given standing ovations, no matter where the competition took place. In contrast (or so it seemed) to his own country's fans Victor had a healthy respect for every man on the ice with him, but none more so than Yuri who had fought so much more than angry fandoms to be where he was.

_I don't even know him all that well, but still... if they understood what he's been through to get to where he is... what I saw at the end of Worlds..._

Yakov's sharp yell as Victor glided past his coach startled him to the point that he almost tripped on his own toepick. Whirling around and heading back he stopped to grab a tissue, dismissing what Yakov had to say. Feltsman was bitching about the fact that Yuri had shown himself to be capable of a quad loop, even if it hadn't been on his planned content sheet and Katsuki himself had said he didn't think it was ready for competition.

Victor looked up to see Yuri step out of a triple flip when he was distracted by Mickey coming around nearby, the aborted landing clearly meant avoid him landing straight into Mickey's path. The Italian also veered away from the Japanese skater, but the smattering of applause in the audience for Yuri's mistake made Victor that much more angry. And clearly it had done the same for Yuri, as the skater then wound up and landed a perfect quad flip right in front of a group that had been waving Russian flags. Victor was sure the placement was not a coincidence, and smiled at the feeling of satisfaction it gave him.

As the warmup concluded with Chris making his statement in the form of a gorgeous quad Lutz, the jump now much more polished with a success rate of about 80%, Victor decided that despite what Yakov was still trying to convince him of – that he was the Living Legend and Russia's greatest skater, and this competition would be his 'redemption' – the field was quite strong. Everyone had upped their game from a year prior, and Victor knew he had to skate his absolute best, as even Otabek with his vastly-improved presentation and technique had a shot at the podium this time.

Victor opted to keep his skates on, putting in his earbuds as he tuned out JJ, Chris, and Mickey's performances respectively. However, when he saw Yuri heading to rinkside with his coach Victor began to move closer to the exit to the ice. He'd decided after the atmosphere of the warmup that despite the energy the Russian fans were putting out, he would make himself seen at rinkside watching Katsuki's program and applauding the perfection he already knew would likely be thrown down. He'd then use it for his own motivation, having finally realized that without Yuri and also Chris to push him, he would likely have ended his career after the Olympics. That was the only reason he was grudgingly thankful for the RSF convincing him to stay – he'd found his motivation again.

As Yuri struck his opening pose Victor stepped out into view at rinkside, doing the usual bounces and pacing on his guarded blades as he watched. Yuri was stunning in a blue unitard costume laden with rhinestones in a harlequin-esque pattern and delicate ruffles at the ends of the sleeves to sync with his music choice, ["Send In the Clowns"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kDIbMhGFJc), a song Yuri had said when he'd told Victor of his short program was one of his mother's favorites. Victor watched as Yuri opened strong with his impeccable triple Axel, his grace in the spins and choreographic sequences that led him past the halfway point mesmerizing. Victor was standing right at the corner where he knew Yuri was going to do his quad flip, watching carefully as he set up –

The second Victor heard Yuri cry out on the landing of the jump, he knew something had gone horribly wrong. Yuri fell hard, getting up and setting weight on his landing foot gingerly before skating off. Victor felt his heart catch in his throat as he looked over to see that Celestino was gripping the boards, white-knuckled and face going pale.  _ He's having flashbacks of his own, _ Victor realized as Yuri's posture changed. He was tentative, his crossovers more weak...

_Oh dear god Yuri don't do it!_ Victor gasped aloud, hands going to his head as Yuri attempted the quad Salchow that opened his combination and popped it into a huge single, a grimace on his face as he came down on both feet, stumbling to keep from falling again. He continued on, hobbling through his final choreographic sequence and hitting his ending pose for about half a second before he doubled over in obvious pain. The audience reaction was that of a crowd which wasn't certain if they should be applauding or not as Yuri continued to hold his right foot up as much as he could while trying to still trying to take his bows.

The gate was opened for Victor to go out and begin his warmup laps as Yuri began to very slowly make his way to the Kiss & Cry, stumbling as he was forced to push off with the injured leg to glide on his good one. Victor glanced over to see Celestino standing at the other gate, clearly wishing for all the world he had skates on at that moment to help his skater off the ice.

_Fuck protocol. Fuck what every single one of you selfish idiots watching right now think. This is what I feel about all of this fucking bullshit you childish lot are shoveling._

Victor veered out of his track along the boards as he neared Yuri, coming to a stop on Katsuki's left, his good side.

“Here, Yuri. Lean on me. Hold the bad leg up, don't try to use it,” Victor said as he wrapped an arm around Yuri's back, taking Katsuki's left arm and slinging it around his shoulders to help Yuri balance. “Just stay still. I'll pull you off.”

“You... have to... warm up... you're going to get... called for time deduction...” Yuri said, the words stuttering in between gasps of pain.

“I don't care about that. They'll dock me a point, so what,” Victor said as they came up to the Kiss & Cry entrance, where Celestino reached forward to take over helping Yuri.

“Thank you, Victor,” Celestino said, his voice shaky as Victor gave Yuri one last pat on the shoulder as the skater steadied himself by leaning into his coach. Katsuki then looked up at Victor with the most defeated, heartbreaking expression the Russian had ever seen.

“Thanks Victor... now go. Get your title back,” Yuri said. “Hurry, before they dock you.”

Victor wanted, in that moment, to do nothing more than follow Yuri and his coach off the ice, to tell Yuri that the gold medal was the last thing he cared about right now. Yakov's bark from his place at the boards brought Victor's mind back to the present and he whirled around, skating straight out and powering into the fastest warmup laps he was certain he'd ever done before a competitive skate. He tuned out Yuri's marks – he knew they would put him in last place after he'd missed both the flip and the combination – and decided then that he'd skate his absolute best not to win, but for the skater that had more than likely pushed himself to the point of injury to live up to the rest of the world's expectations. He should have stopped the moment he knew he was hurt, but he'd kept going.

Victor knew what that felt like, and no amount of positivity could change one's judgment when all you really want to do is not let everyone down. For Victor, it had been to keep going so he could at least get a begrudging, mumbled “at least you didn't give up” from his coach. For Yuri, from everything Victor had learned... it was more than likely that he didn't want to disappoint his own coach, the person who believed in him more than anyone else.

Victor didn't even remember skating his short program once he'd stepped off the ice. His body had gone into autopilot, turned into the Victor Nikiforov many of his fans had dubbed The Terminator for his impeccable, solid jumping technique – the kind of performance he'd skate when he didn't think too hard about it and didn't' have anything to lose. He cared nothing for whatever Yakov was grumbling next to him, then felt incensed as he looked up at marks that were definitely cushioned to give him maximum comfort at the top when all things considered, there was absolutely no need to do so. It was an insult to Yuri on top of his injury.

As he rose to leave the Kiss & Cry, Victor looked over to where Otabek stood at the boards with Satsuki Muramoto, Celestino's coaching team member. As the Kazakh turned to skate toward center ice, Victor drew in a deep breath and yelled as loudly as he could.

“ _Davai!!!!”_

Otabek looked over, flashed a 'thumbs up' along with a decisive nod, and took his beginning pose. Once they were given the clear to leave the Kiss & Cry (television demanded they stay there until the next skater was being introduced) Victor stood and hurried back as quickly as he could, ignoring the media “mixed zone” as he searched to find out what had happened to Yuri. Finally, unable to see where Celestino had gone with him Victor went over to the TV lounge to sit down heavily in the first place spot, with Chris to his right in second and Mickey currently in third to his left.

“Did you hear anything? Do you know what happened?” Victor asked as Otabek's performance played on the monitor in front of them.

“All I could make out from what they were saying in the Kiss & Cry was that he felt his ankle turn under when he landed on the flip,” Chris said. “Once the cameras were off of them they got him into a wheelchair and took him back to medical. We've heard nothing since.”

“The replay was pretty scary. His ankle just kind of folded inward,” Mickey said. “He said he could move it though when Celestino asked him, though it hurt to do that obviously.”

Victor reluctantly stayed in the TV lounge until the competition ended with Otabek placing third. Once again ignoring the press much to Yakov's chagrin, he headed back to medical to see what he could find out. Upon being told Yuri had been taken to the local hospital for x-rays Victor felt somewhat better, and trudged through the requisite media and small medal ceremony obligations as best he could... until, of course, one Russian journalist at the press conference took it just a little bit too far.

“So, Victor, you are back on top and you will most likely win on Russian ice in Sochi. How does it feel to be on the verge of finally getting the victory you deserved here?”

There was an uncomfortable silence in the room as Victor stared the reporter down. To his left, Otabek's expression darkened considerably; to his right, Chris shook his head then facepalmed, too over the manufactured rivalry to care what he looked like doing it.

“I only deserve what I worked for myself and won on my own merit, not what others think I should have or decide to give me because of it,” Victor answered, his tone flat, eyes cold. “And if anyone in this room thinks it is perfectly fine to celebrate an injury to _any_ skater, you can consider yourself a disgusting excuse for a human being.”

After Victor stood up so abruptly that his chair flipped backwards and stalked out of the room, prompting his fellow skaters to walk out with him in a show of unity, the press conference was called to a very awkward close.

  
  


  
  


Otabek answered the knock at the door of the hotel room he shared with Yuri, knowing who it was before he even opened it. “They got back a bit ago. He's resting in bed,” Otabek said as he stepped aside to let Victor in.

Victor walked in to find Yuri dozing in bed with his right leg elevated, the ankle buried under ice packs and pressure wrapping. Katsuki stirred at the sound of the door clicking shut, opening his eyes slowly; Victor recognized the glazed look in them as one of a skater on painkillers.

“Hey,” Victor said with a soft smile, pulling a bouquet of white roses with blue-tipped petals out from behind his back, sitting on the edge of the bed at Yuri's hip. “How are you doing?”

“Oh my god you didn't have to get me flowers, you dork,” Yuri laughed softly as he reached out to accept them them. “But thank you. And well the good news is, it's not broken and nothing's torn. Bad news is, the ankle was weakened, probably from practicing the loop, so it got strained pretty well when it turned under. Needless to say, I'm withdrawing from the long program tomorrow. I'll know more when I get back to Detroit and see our team of doctors there, but it's looking like I won't make it to at the very least Nationals and Four Continents. I'll be on crutches till further notice.”

“Competitions are the least important thing right now,” Victor said. “You need to listen to your doctors, rest and heal. Pushing yourself to get back too quickly isn't going to do you any good.”

“I know. It's just...” Yuri sighed heavily. “I worked so hard to feel in control of everything again. I never wanted to crash and burn on the ice like I had been before I started training with Coach C. He wasn't mad at me, but he was upset that I didn't remember what he'd always told me the number one rule was: Physical and mental well-being over all else. I just... I didn't want to give up.”

“This wasn't like your anxiety though, Yuri,” Victor said. “You could have injured yourself a whole lot more than you did by not stopping. You have to remember that and not do it again. But hopefully it won't come to that.”

Yuri nodded quietly. “I know. That's what he said too.”

Victor was silent for a few moments then, during which he realized Otabek had slipped out of the room. After some thought Victor looked back over at Yuri, who was again lightly dozing.

“Yuri.”

He opened his eyes in response. “Hm?”

“Even if I do win tomorrow, it's not going to mean anything.”

“What do you mean?” Yuri asked. “It's the Final.”

“The only reason I'll win tomorrow is because the only man that can truly challenge me won't be there, and because they padded the marks so much even Chris couldn't pull out an upset now. That's not how I want to win, _or_ lose. I've never wanted you 'out of the way' just so I could get a title back or get some kind of revenge. All you've done since the Olympics is give me a reason to keep going, inspiring me to be better, to push myself to achieve things I can be proud of even if no one else close to me is. So... just... just know that, okay?”

Victor had been staring down at his folded hands in his lap as he'd spoken, and Yuri's silence in response was unnerving. When he looked over, he was surprised to see the other man tearing up a bit.

“What is it?” Victor said, turning to face Yuri again.

“I first saw you when I was twelve, watching Junior Worlds. I'd been skating since I was six, and I was just at the age where I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do. My parents wanted me to stop when I got to middle school and focus on my studies, and my sister was trying to get them to let up on me about it till I was bit older and could make my own choice. And then I saw you skate... and you were who I wanted to be like the most. You were why I didn't quit. I worked hard, got better and better and showed my parents why I wanted to keep going, and because of that they let me. So it's just... kind of surreal to hear you say all this now, you know?”

Victor reached over to lay a hand on Yuri's shoulder, smiling softly. “And now?”

“I know I'm not done yet. And... especially since I know I can skate on the same ice as you and deserve to be there after so long believing I never would... I still want to keep going, once I'm well.”

Victor smiled, giving Yuri's shoulder a squeeze. “And I want that too, Yuri. Because you deserve everything you've achieved, and more.”

At that moment the painkillers kicked in fully and Yuri's eyes drifted closed before he could respond. As he rose to leave Victor paused at the foot of the bed, watching the other man sleep for a few moments then bending down to take the ice packs off of Katsuki's ankle so it didn't get too cold.

It was as he mulled over Yuri's words that his mind and heart settled on what he needed to do. He'd seen the true colors of the people that had been closest to him, that he'd always wanted to think believed in him unconditionally and now knew that was anything but the case. He knew what he wanted would be difficult, and he'd have to fight hard for it, harder than he ever had on the ice. But if he wanted to continue, and eventually end, his skating career without a hatred for everything it had been, he had no other choice.

_It's time to be brave. And if I can be even a fraction as brave as you, my dear Yuri, I'll have the one victory that will mean more to me than anything else in the world... my freedom._

  
  


  
  


Victor knew he didn't have to go out of his way to win the 2015 Grand Prix Final. Between Yuri's withdrawal due to the injury he'd sustained and the obvious padding of Victor's marks, there was literally no challenge left to the competition at all. Even so, he found within himself the desire to go full-out, inspired by the voice echoing in his mind, speaking words that as he'd lain in bed that night recalling them, he'd become inspired by.

_And then I saw you skate... and you were who I wanted to be like the most. You were why I didn't quit._

As Victor skated his long program, he came to realize that he had never had anyone he'd aspired to be like. He'd always been told that he was the one everyone else wanted to be. The gifted, perfect skater who was on his way to becoming a Living Legend.  _No one is better than you. You can skate circles around everyone in your way. You can be reborn every time you step on the ice, push farther, push further, reach every new height so that you will be remembered among the greatest of your sport._ From the time he'd been taken under the wings of Yakov and Lilia, he'd been molded, crafted, built to become a star. But  _whose_ star?

Despite everything he'd accomplished, it had always been about going higher.  _So you won Junior Worlds, now it's time to move to Seniors. You won your first Senior Grand Prix event, now win two. You finally won the Grand Prix Final, now you win Nationals. You've won Nationals, now you have to win Euros. You're European Champion, now it's time to win Worlds. Now you've won everything else, there's only one thing left: Win the Olympics. So you lost the first one, you'll win the second. You didn't win the second, but it doesn't matter, the most important one is Sochi. Win on Russian ice, and you will be remembered forever._

Victor hadn't realized until Yuri had spoken about remembering the impact seeing Victor skate as a Junior had had upon his own career that Yakov had spoken words of the exact opposite nature.

_You didn't win on Russian ice. After everything else you've done, this should have been easy._

As he hit his ending pose, having landed everything cleanly by tuning out the world and becoming Victor Nikiforov: Terminator Edition, Victor decided that this would be the beginning of the end of things as they were. The season was now half over; all that was left was Russian Nationals, European Championships, and Worlds. Three more competitions to the end of the season.

He wasn't going to leave it all behind. Not when he now knew that what he'd accomplished meant something, even if it was to just one person. But he now knew that his life and his love of the sport could have been so much different. He saw it all in Yuri: Aspire for the highs, and learn from the lows. But most of all, fill your life with those who support and love you for who you are, not who they expect you to be.

He sat in the Kiss & Cry, the final skater of the competition, and watched his marks come up. Grand Prix Final Champion. A sea of Russian flags waving, banners with his image and name raised, including one with “REDEMPTION” in Cyrillic lettering.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked over at its owner.

“It's about goddamn time,” Yakov growled. “Although the only way you seem to be able to win is when _he_ isn't in your way.”

In response Victor rose, staring out at the predominantly Russian crowd, his face stoic even as his image on the Jumbotron caused the audience to grow louder. They were expecting the Nikiforov heart-shaped grin, the double-handed wave and fistpumps, the blowing of kisses into the camera. They wanted him to celebrate finally winning  _some_ kind of gold medal in an ISU event on the very same ice where he'd lost what the world considered the most important competition of his career. After all, he deserved this, right?

Instead, he looked directly into the lens and said, in his very best English: “This is for you, Yuri. Thank you for inspiring me. Get well soon.”

And then Victor Nikiforov, Russia's Living Legend, turned his back to the camera that broadcast his image to the arena, to Russia, and the world, and walked away.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you as always for reading, as well as all the hits and kudos. I'm really happy so many of you are enjoying this work. 😁


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The 2015-16 figure skating season ends with a bombshell for the Detroit Figure Skating Club team.

The thing that annoyed Yuri the absolute most about having to withdraw from the 2016 World Championships is that they were taking place in Boston, Massachusetts in the US. For once, he would have had a competition where he didn't have to deal with jet lag and it would have been a chance to be in top form. Instead, even though he had finally gotten back on the ice near the end of February, his doctors had advised him that pushing himself to go back in time for Worlds just a few weeks later in March had the potential to cause a setback to his healing. The phone call to the JSF had gone remarkably well though, with them agreeing that it was much better for him to heal and return to the ice at full health at the start of the next season in the fall.

So instead, Yuri had decided that he would make the trip to support his rinkmates Phichit, Otabek and Leo, as well as Chris and Victor. Upon hearing that he'd be present the television channel in Japan that was broadcasting Worlds, NHK, asked Yuri if he'd like to do a few appearances where he gave overviews on both segments of the men's event, and while he had never done anything like it before he decided to take them up on the offer.

Yuri also loved that thanks to his glasses, somewhat shaggy, longish hair, the bit of extra weight he'd put on while not on the ice (which he was already working on getting rid of) and his very casual off-ice clothing, coat and beanie he remained completely anonymous as he attended the practice sessions. He'd sat up in the stands on his own, helping out by taking videos from the higher vantage point for Celestino to review in between his own notes for his NHK appearances.

He also found that it was quite interesting to be able to see the skaters' interactions with their coaches. Yuri had never seen Celestino coach from afar for obvious reasons, but even from his vantage point the presence Cialdini put out in contrast to the other coaches was striking. Always smiling and giving encouraging pats on the shoulder (if the skater was comfortable with it – Beka wasn't the huggy type, so he and Celestino had developed a rapport of high fives and thumbs ups) and giving off a positive energy that his skaters were encouraged by. Coach Satsuki was taking care of Phichit, and Coach Rowan was already Leo's coach, but the three of them had all collaborated and become a team with varying dynamics that had led all three skaters to improve as the differing viewpoints, opinions and styles of the coaching team combined.

But the skater/coach interaction that all the media covering the event, as well as all the fans, were discussing the most was the one that raised the red flags of discourse even to Yuri's eyes. While Yakov Feltsman seemed more or less attentive as he dealt with Georgi Popovich, who'd been sent to Worlds by the RSF over another very worthy Russian men's contender to the chagrin of many skating fans, the tension between the coach and Victor Nikiforov was on full display. They appeared to not be speaking at all, with Victor's official “sitting coach” listed in all the competition materials as Lilia Baranovskaya, the choreographer who had worked with Victor throughout his Junior career as well as his transition into the Senior ranks.

Victor also appeared to be taking technical advice from Josef Karpisek, Chris Giacometti's coach. The two skaters were attempting to cover this by palling around during practice, with Victor casually skating over near the other coach when Chris did so. The fact that Victor had continued to train in Switzerland at Chris' home rink – including the flat-out refusal to return to his own home rink in St. Petersburg for the three weeks between the Grand Prix Final and Russian Nationals – was cited as the reason Victor seemed friendly with Karpisek. But from what Yuri and Phichit had seen online, Katsuki was pretty certain no one bought that idea at all and if he had to guess, he'd pin it as being the reason Nikiforov and his coach were no longer on speaking terms.

Yuri himself didn't know much. Victor had gone somewhat quiet after the Final, keeping in touch in the most casual of ways. Chris had reassured Yuri that it was just the way Victor was when he was buckling down and working on what he needed to do, but Yuri couldn't help but wonder after seeing the obvious tension if Victor was all right. He knew better than to make his presence known though; the last thing he wanted to do was distract Victor if he was having a difficult time. He'd likely find out Yuri was in the building when he showed up in videos posted to YouTube by the fans of his NHK Channel appearances, and that was fine with Katsuki.

As Yuri watched Victor's short program runthrough he noticed that the freedom and spark that the Russian had developed over the previous season had seemed to fade, replaced by his usual stoic, intense demeanor. The music was some dark-sounding classical-genre piece that Yuri didn't recognize, but Victor's programs for this season featured music written especially for him so that wasn't surprising.

But Yuri was pretty certain he'd never seen Victor this deep into whatever the piece meant to him. Even though the Russian was technically superior, he'd been criticized for very often being too “wooden” or “intense” in his competitive programs, and considering how far he'd come with improving on that the season prior, Yuri felt he'd taken a step back into his old ways. That was actually the only thing that was really surprising about Victor's programs this season, and Yuri was loathe to admit it. Whatever was weighing on the Russian was clearly coming to a head and affecting his performance on the ice.

As the practice ended Yuri typed notes into his phone for the overview he'd be doing for the Japanese broadcast before the men's short program, then waited until they'd all taken their leave of the ice before he left himself. On top of his own efforts at anonymity NHK had given him a press lanyard, so even though it featured his photo and name no one gave him any notice as he got onto one of the shuttle buses to head back to the hotel.

Celestino had allowed Yuri to tag along to Worlds with one stipulation: While a few days off of the ice certainly weren't going to hurt, he still had to do his rehab exercises. Thus as Yuri returned to the room he shared with Phichit (they'd kept the reservation originally meant for Yuri on the off chance he'd be able to compete) he settled in to work on the [list of exercises he'd received from his physical therapist](https://www.uofmhealth.org/health-library/te7604) while he waited for his friend to return. He got involved in keeping count, losing track of time for a bit and was just about to text Phichit to see what was up when he heard familiar voices in the hall. A moment later the door lock clicked and Phichit entered... with Chris trailing behind.

“I told you not to tell anyone I was here!” Yuri said. “I didn't want it to get around.”

“Don't worry cheri, your secret's safe with me. I asked Phichit if you were here because I thought I saw you coming in after practices last night,” Chris said as he sat down at the table opposite Yuri. “How are you doing?”

“A lot better, but not good enough to compete yet. I only started doing jumps again two weeks ago but just doubles so far, and I still have to wear tape on it. My PT says I might always want to do that going forward.”

“It's not a bad idea,” Chris agreed. “Honestly, I was hoping you'd stay out the rest of the season. Not because you're ridiculously difficult to beat, but just to make sure you're healed all the way. Too many skaters make the mistake of trying to get back too soon and end up paying for it.”

“Yeah,” Yuri sighed. “At first I was kind of regretting coming here just to support everyone because it was hard to watch everything happening and not being able to be a part of it. But I've found it's kind of nice to watch it from an outside perspective.”

“I'm sure you'll hear lots of gossip in the stands,” Chris grinned.

“Oh I won't be in the stands, at least not for the men's and maybe the ladies,” Yuri said. “NHK asked me to be a guest commentator since I'm not skating. I'm a little nervous about it but I figure if I stick to technical commentary I'll be okay.”

“Oh dear,” Chris laughed. “Yeah, I wouldn't start making comments about presentation or whatever, or even your favorite skaters. You'll never hear the end of it!”

“I told him that too!” Phichit agreed. “Just keep it to 'uhhh I think that's underrotated but we gotta see a replay!' and it's all good.”

Yuri mulled over his next question for a few moments, then decided to take a chance on it. “So... how is Victor doing?”

Chris heaved a deep sigh in response. “He's... going through it right now. Not insofar as skating... you probably saw that he's looking quite strong. But all hell broke loose when he refused to go back to St. Petersburg to practice before Russian Nationals. He and Yakov aren't speaking, especially since he is currently in talks with the RSF to be allowed to look for a new coach. He had been trying to be diplomatic with them, but after what happened at the Final, he's basically given them an ultimatum: Release him to find a new coach by the end of this season, or he'll retire.”

Both Phichit and Yuri's eyes went wide at that. “Whoa. Honestly, I think he's the only one that could get away with something like that,” Yuri said. “But I don't understand why it's so difficult to move to a different coach, you hear about Russians changing coaches a lot.”

“Ah, yes, but the catch is that he wants to look outside of Russia for a coach, and also train in that country if he finds someone. Which is pretty much unheard of. There has never been a Russian skater that has been coached by a non-Russian. So that's where the pushback is coming from.”

“So he wants to move to Lausanne?” Phichit asked.

Yuri was almost positive he saw a flash of indecisiveness on Chris' face before he replied. “He hasn't said specifically, but my coach Josef would gladly take him on. He did help him to come out of his shell a little more with presentation. Not so... Russian. But he's been so stressed that he's kind of fallen back into old habits.”

“It would be cool if you guys could be training mates. It would be like me and Yuri,” Phichit smiled. “I'm sure he'd be really happy.”

Again, a slightly pensive expression crossed Chris' face as he nodded quietly. “I think he just needs to be anywhere than where he is now. He's talked with me a lot about it, but it's not really my place to say more.”

“I know,” Yuri replied. “Just... for now, don't tell him I'm here. Let him focus and do what he needs to do. I've been needing to take it easy anyway so I've been laying low. What floor are you guys on?”

“Two floors up from here, eighth,” Chris said. “He really hasn't been leaving the room outside of scheduled practice times and of course starting tomorrow, the competition. So as long as you work around that, you probably won't run into him.”

“All right. Sounds good,” Yuri nodded.

“Well I'm going to head upstairs and get a nap before the evening practice. Neither of us have decided if we're going yet, but just in case,” Chris said as he rose. “You get back to your exercises young man.”

Yuri smiled at that. “Yes sir. Good luck tomorrow.”

Chris grinned as he headed to the door. “Thanks... I'm going to need it with Mr. Terminator on the ice. Take care boys.”

Once Chris was gone Yuri resumed his exercises and Phichit flopped on his bed, with the pair remaining quiet for a bit. Once Yuri finished and went to grab some ice for his ankle Phichit sat up in bed, grabbing his phone and scrolling through it a bit until Yuri returned.

“Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you,” Yuri said. “I tried to be quiet sneaking out to the ice machine.”

“Nah, I was awake,” Phichit said. “I know Chris didn't want to say much, but there is a _lot_ of gossip in the locker room and the gym about Victor.”

“Seriously? Good or bad?”

“It's mostly about whether or not he'll retire. Nobody really thinks that the RSF is going to let him have a non-Russian coach. Apparently Victor's been getting a lot of grief from Russian fans. When he was leaving Sochi after the Final he got harassed by them, getting called a traitor and stuff. And he had to disable comments on his Instagram and then just stopped posting because when he blocked Insta comments, he was getting nothing but horrible comments from the Russian fanbase on VKontatke.”

“That's... that sounds way worse than after the Olympics. I know there were some Russian fans angry with him but not like that. I honestly have to wonder if he'll retire just to be done with it all... but that would suck so hard. That's not a good reason to have to leave the sport, you know? Everyone wants to leave on their own terms and that really wouldn't be what he wanted.”

“This is between you, me, and the wall like Ciao Ciao says,” Phichit replied, “but Chris says Victor may still take the first half of the season off regardless of what happens. He wanted to take the break right after the Olympics but the RSF and Yakov wouldn't let him. They wanted him to keep going and win gold medals to show he wasn't 'washed up'. And when he wasn't able to beat you at any of the competitions you were in together, they told him he couldn't take a break after that. So he told _them_ he'd only keep going if he could go train in Lausanne. That was the stuff he didn't say. So yeah, on top of wanting to change coaches he wants a break as well and the RSF is giving him a hard time even though he's had an undefeated season.”

“I'd be willing to bet they're saying it's only undefeated because I wasn't there. They want him to stay in so that when I come back, he beats me. They won't be happy until that happens, especially not after what he did on camera at the Final, what he said about me.”

“I can't believe they're putting him through so much. It's like even if he wanted to retire he probably couldn't,” Phichit said.

“That was the speculation about Plushenko back around the time of the Vancouver Olympics too, why he pushed himself to stay in for so long. He kept saying it was because he wanted it, but there really wasn't a Russian men's contender for a while there. He skated till his back was wrecked. Victor doesn't deserve that. He doesn't deserve to be run into the ground and have it all end to where he can't remember his career and accomplishments in a good way. Just because he didn't win the Olympics doesn't mean he's not one of the greatest there is. It's just... it's wrong, and really sad,” Yuri said.

“You know... it might help him if he knew you were here,” Phichit said.

“I don't want to distract him. He's got enough to worry about. I was going to text him for good luck tomorrow, but not let him know I'm here,” Yuri replied.

“He might be more mad if he finds out everyone knew but him though.”

Yuri sighed at that. “I just... I don't want to be responsible for anything else he's going through. Whether anyone wants to admit it or not, at the end of the day it all still comes down to me. The RSF is pushing him like this to keep his Living Legend title because of me. Let him have this competition without adding me into the mix, because once I'm back next season, it's just going to start all over again no matter where he's being coached from.”

  
  


  
  


Chris returned to the room he shared with Victor to find him lying in bed and scrolling through his phone. The Russian sat up as his friend entered with a confused expression on his face as he looked at his screen.

“Did you hear anything about this?” Victor began. “There's a group of people on Twitter that are here together from Japan, that are swearing up and down they've seen Yuri sitting in the stands watching practices.”

“Really? Why would he be here? He withdrew,” Chris said carefully.

“Honestly? I could see him coming here to support Phichit. Those two are very close,” Victor said. He scrolled through his phone a bit more, then turned it to show Chris a blurry, somewhat dark photo of a person sitting in the stands, taken from the next section over, wearing jeans, an oversized tan coat, a beanie that appeared to have two points on top that made it look like cat ears, and blue-rimmed glasses. “This is who they are saying is him. It's hard to tell, but those look like his glasses.”

Chris squinted at the photo; having not seen Yuri in the coat he'd worn to the practices, he genuinely wasn't certain the photo was of him. “I can't tell, to be honest.”

“I'm going to text him and ask,” Victor said. “If he's here I'd at least like to see how he's doing. I can't imagine why he wouldn't let me know.”

Chris had to laugh at that. “Are you two really that close, or are  _you_ just thinking you are?” he said. “There's no reason he'd have to report to you if he was here.”

“I... well...” Victor seemed at a loss for words for a moment. “I'd...”

“You just want to see him, is all,” Chris said. “He'd asked me last month in a text why you seemed to have disappeared and if everything was okay.”

Victor's face turned annoyed then. “Why didn't you tell me?”

“Because he asked me not to. He's worried about bothering you, that's why he didn't want me to say anything about –“ Chris cut himself off quickly as he tried to avoid slipping up.

“Chris.”

Silence in response.

“ _Chris.”_

“Okay, fine. He's here,” Chris said. “But he's going to kill me for telling you.”

“I figured it out myself pretty much. It's not a lie. But I don't understand why he doesn't want to talk to me.”

“I don't exactly know myself. Why don't you ask him,” Chris said, his tone mildly irritated now.

Victor backed off then, lying down and burying himself under the blankets on his bed, his back to Chris as he opened his iMessage app.

**Victor:** Yuuuuuuriiiiiiiiiiii

It took a few minutes before the “Sent” notation turned to “Read”, followed by the ellipsis that denoted a reply was being typed.

**Yuri:** Hi Victor, I was going to text you either tonight or tomorrow to say good luck.

**Victor:** Why didn't you tell me you're here?

This time the “Sent” turned to “Read” immediately, but the reply took several minutes.

**Yuri:** How did you find out?

**Victor:** You've been spotted in the stands at practice. Most aren't quite sure it's you but some Japanese fans more or less confirmed it. They seem to recognize your casual coat.

**Yuri:** Oh crap. I didn't really want to be spotted. People will be wondering why I'm here when I'm not skating.

**Victor:** You didn't answer my question. Why didn't you tell me you're here?

Another long wait before the ellipsis turned up again.

**Yuri:** You're going through enough because of me. Didn't want you getting any more shit.

**Victor:** What? Yuri, nothing is because of you. The RSF is just being stubborn. I really don't care what their issue is, I'm going to do what I want to.

**Yuri:** I guess. But better that I keep my distance for now.

**Victor:** All right, fine. How are you doing?

**Yuri:** Better. Still rehabbing, had to promise to do exercises while I'm here or coach wouldn't let me come. Just back on the ice for a couple weeks, only doing doubles right now. Going to take a while to get my groove back. Next season might be a bit rocky to start if I can't get back to full training schedule by at least July.

**Victor:** I think you'll be all right. If the JSF is smart they'll give you GP assignments that are later in the season. Maybe ask them to.

**Yuri:** Gonna look into it.

Victor debated his next response for a few minutes before he typed it out, then backspaced it several times to revise before finally hitting send.

**Victor:** If you change your mind about meeting up, I don't think I'm going to evening practice. I'm on the sixth floor, room 603. Or I can come to you. I'd like to see you.

Another long wait for a reply, during which Victor wondered if he shouldn't have sent his text.

**Yuri:** I'm doing some work for NHK Channel. I have to go to the evening practice to take notes, doing an overview on the short and long for their coverage of the men's event. Ended up working while I am here. I'll catch up with you when I can.

Victor sighed, realizing the conversation was effectively ended by Yuri's reply and decided it was better if it was left as such.

**Victor:** All right. I'll see you when I see you then. Take care.

Victor watched the “Sent” note beneath his text for several minutes, but it didn't turn to “Read”. With another sigh he turned his phone to Do Not Disturb mode and set it down, closing his eyes. He hated that Yuri was still feeling responsible for the situation he was in, and hoped that when they had a chance to talk in person, he could get it straightened out.

And two floors down, having turned his phone to silent so as not to disturb a sleeping Phichit, Yuri had declined answering Victor's final reply after it came up on his lock screen in order to draw in a few deep breaths and collect himself. He also was left to wonder just why Victor Nikiforov was so intent on seeing him, and why the thought of that made his heart want to burst out of his chest.

  
  


  
  


For the first time all season, Victor was looking forward to skating his long program. It wasn't because he had any competition to push him; the short program had been easy, his muscle memory helping him to give a flawless performance even if he hadn't really felt anything from the dark music he'd chosen to represent his state of mind. It wasn't because it was the final competition of the season, although that did help somewhat. Rather, it was the fact that the person he'd had the music written for was going to be in the stands, though they themselves didn't know it.

The warmup for the final group didn't even feel like the World Championships to Victor. There was nothing exciting about it; he knew the capabilities of all the men on the ice. Crispino with his inconsistent quads that had been on point for the short, but he tended to loose steam in the long. Georgi with another of his ridiculously overdramatic programs that involved nearly theatrical costuming and makeup; Victor had joked to Chris that he was pretty sure the amount of Swarovski crystals on it caused him to miss jumps when the sparkle blinded him. Chris, who while formidable with his now highly-consistent quad Lutz and quad toe loop, still only had two reliable quads and one other that was a work in progress to Victor's four and while he'd likely take the silver again, he was no real threat. Otabek, who had been the surprise of the season with his much-improved overall skills and presentation was within striking distance of bronze, but his planned content would likely not place him any higher than that. And then there was the Chinese skater Cao Bin, who seemed to always be chasing the final group but never quite making it past fifth or sixth place due to inconsistency on his jumps.

The only one that could have challenged Victor Nikiforov wasn't skating; the only one that had come to be known to be as full of surprises as Victor himself. Even the skating media was lamenting the absence of Yuri Katsuki at these Worlds, and with good reason. The rivalry could have been good-natured, friendly, with both men holding mutual respect for each other and pushing each other to their limits, making the sport that much more thrilling for fans and skaters alike. Instead, forces from within and around the framework of their sport had continued to make it anything but. The Russian media had been the biggest culprit, followed by the darker sections of the skating social media fandom that didn't seem to have a filter when it came to negativity directed at skaters.

_He's not here because he put his own health in jeopardy so he didn't get called weak, or a quitter. And now that he's not on this ice, you all realize what you're missing. You all realize how great he truly is, what a bright star he has become._

As he came off the ice he accepted his hardguards from Lilia, who had come along upon hearing Yakov was not even speaking to Victor, let alone coaching him. Feltsman was exclusively with Georgi for the competition now, and Victor was fine with that; Lilia had been Victor's only saving grace in the last few months, being far more understanding about his situation than even his own coach. (Or, more accurately, unwilling to admit that he was the cause of Victor's desire to move on, nor change his ways to keep him from doing so.) As Nikiforov walked into the backstage area to wait for his turn on the ice Lilia walked quietly beside him, her outward countenance stoic until they were in an area off-camera. He sat down on a bench, elbows resting on his thighs, hands hanging limp and head bowed as he worked on catching his breath. He felt Lilia sit down next to him, waiting patiently for him to finally lift his head.

“Vitya. I know your heart is not in this competition,” she said gently. “But still, I would like to see your best.”

“I know,” he said quietly. “I will do that.”

After looking around to see who might be near she leaned in, turning her face toward the wall but speaking softly in Russian near Victor's ear. “I made some calls over the last few days. I have two friends on the RSF Board. I heard back from them today.”

He turned his head to look into the same face that had been somewhat less terrifying to him than Yakov's growing up; Victor had seen her softer side at the times it mattered the most. That she had stuck her neck out for him and offered to sit as his coach had been one of those times, and he now saw the same expression in her eyes again: The one that said _I understand, and I stand by you._

“And what did they tell you?” he asked, unsure of what to expect.

She laid a hand on his shoulder. “They will allow you to look outside of Russia for a coach, as long as you continue to represent Russia and Yubileyny,” she replied. “I will miss you, Vitya. But you are grown, and it is time to move forward, even if it means breaking with the strongest of traditions. The Russian skating fans are proud, sometimes maybe to a fault. It will not be easy for you, but I believe you are strong enough to do this, and that you must do it to be happy.”

Victor wasn't certain at first if he'd heard correctly until she gave his shoulder a squeeze, likely to break him out of the shocked silence he'd fallen into. He wanted to hug her, but knew that really wasn't the former Prima Ballerina's style. “Thank you,” he finally said, his voice shaking a bit.

She replied at first with a quiet nod as a couple of people walked by, casting a glance around once again. “The official announcement won't be made until after Worlds are over, but Evgeniy will be calling you tomorrow.”

A volunteer emerged from around the corner, looking about until she spotted the pair; she hesitated to come forward until Victor nodded. “Mr. Nikiforov, you have ten minutes to ice.” Victor nodded again and she took her leave.

“Go, wake up your legs,” Lilia said. “Give me one last look at your brilliance.”

“You'll see me again,” he said with a soft smile. “I'm not giving up just yet.”

She rose, watching him as he stretched out his legs, pacing around a bit in between. “I know. But you know as well as I how it will be once you have moved on.”

Victor remembered then one other Russian skater that had not been able to cope with Yakov's blustery, rough type of coaching and had moved on to another, just as famous Russian coach whose skaters had often gone head to head with Yakov's over the years. The rivalry between Victor and his former rinkmate had been foisted upon him by his coach and the Russian media and while the skater continued on for many more years, he'd retired due to injury just as Victor had hit his stride. No one at Yubileyny had been allowed to speak to him even at competitions, and Victor had gotten in big trouble with Yakov for trying at Nationals the following year. Even though Lilia was her own person and the only one that could stand up to Yakov and win, Victor knew as well as she did the game she'd have to play along with.

“I suppose you'll help Yura now, and that will be the next Russian rivalry. They'll want me to move on to make room for the new blood.” He zipped up his Team Russia jacket, then flashed her his usual wink and a smile. “Well, I don't intend to go out that easily. It will take more than that to get rid of me.”

Victor derived a lot of satisfaction out of the wicked, approving grin that spread across Lilia's face, her eyes glinting as she offered her one-word reply.

“Excellent.”

  
  


  
  


Yuri had ended up only doing an interview that included an overview of the men's competition and some light commentary on the men's short program, and as such was now sitting in the “skaters' area”, a block of seats usually kept open for any skaters or other staff associated with them to sit and watch the competitions. He had just been joined by Phichit during the warmup for the final group, with his best friend having skated in the second-to-last group and sitting currently in first out of those who had skated. Yuri was pretty sure between the photos of him all over Twitter, including a few he'd ended up taking with fans, as well as Phichit sitting next to him would make him far less conspicuous, but at least he was in an area where he wouldn't be bothered... hopefully.

“It's so weird to see Lilia standing in as Victor's coach,” Phichit said as he watched the close-up shot on the Jumbotron of the final six men coming off the ice, with Lilia greeting Victor.

“Yeah... things must really be bad if Yakov's not even coaching him,” Yuri said.

“If it's that bad I hope he does get the okay to find another coach. There's all these stories coming out about Yakov now, especially from Petrikovsky,” Phichit said.

“Oh _man_ I remember when he left Yakov. Victor had just gotten into Seniors and they had the Russian Rivalry going on. It was brutal. The rumor was that they hated each other, but having gotten to know Victor now I kind of wonder if it's one-sided.”

“He's never talked about it?” Phichit asked, lowering his voice as Cao Bin began his program, prompting him to check and find that no one was really around them right now to disturb.

Yuri shook his head. “No. I've never asked. But yeah I've been seeing some trash talk already from the Russian skaters. If he does manage to break away, it's not going to be easy.”

“If he's willing to risk that you gotta wonder how bad things have been though,” Phichit pointed out.

“True,” Yuri nodded.

“Did you ever find out why he wanted to see you?” Phichit asked.

“No... I figure once this is over I'll catch up with him. Let him focus on this for now.”

As the final group got underway, both Cao Bin and Mickey had less-than-stellar performances. Their respective long program scores were low enough that both men ended up placing below Phichit and causing him to retain his first place spot of those who had skated. That ranking held until Georgi went on to have a respectable performance with all jumping passes clean, but due to the eclectic theatricality of the program he ended up with much lower presentation marks than technical. Regardless, his combined short and long program scores found him still taking the lead overall, the marks evoking some boos and disapproving whistles from the crowd when Phichit dropped to second.

The final three skaters in order of the draw were Chris, Otabek and Victor. Chris' long program was a medley of various techno songs that included a lot of high-energy choreography. The crowd went insane when he landed his now-signature quad Lutz, the edge clean and the landing secure. To Yuri's surprise Chris once again attempted a quad flip-triple toe, and he and Phichit jumped to their feet and cheered wildly as he landed the flip with a bit of a fight on the landing, then completed the combination with a double toe on the end. With one last standalone quad toe loop near the end of the program the Swiss skater finished on a high note, pumping his fists in the air and yelling after he came out of his ending pose.

“Oh my _god_ he was on fire!” Phichit grinned. “I know he said he was working on the flip and that Victor had been helping him with it but I did not think he'd throw it in the long program!”

“It makes sense, because if he'd tripled it, he would have been okay as long as it was in combination. He could have kept the second triple flip in and not get called for repeating,” Yuri said. “But yeah, he really improved on that quad flip and being in the same rink with Victor all year had to have helped.”

As Chris' marks put him solidly in first place Otabek did his warmup laps, with Yuri and Phichit yelling “davai!!” from their seats as loudly as they could. By this time some of the men from the earlier groups had taken up some of the seats, a few of them looking back to see who the rowdy pair were. Phichit noticed and flashed his huge grin along with a shrug which cracked Yuri up; meanwhile Otabek stopped at center ice to strike his opening pose.

Yuri had remembered Beka from Juniors, mostly because despite his age his skills had been a bit behind many of the other skaters, Yuri himself included. Celestino had definitely helped to unlock a lot of the potential that had been brewing beneath the surface, and as a result Otabek laid down just as solid a long program as his short had been. Like Chris, Beka took a gamble on the quad Salchow and landed a gorgeous one at the beginning of the program, followed by a quad toe loop as the next jumping pass. His presentation had vastly improved as well, with Yuri and Phichit both seeing the positive effects of the extra ballet and dance classes offered at DSC that the three of them along with Leo had attended together. Otabek continued to get stronger throughout the program, landing a quad toe-triple toe combination just after the halfway mark and nailing the rest of his jumping passes, ultimately going clean. Yuri and Phichit whooped and cheered again as Beka took his bows and one final time as his overall score put him in second below Chris, with one final skater to go.

Yuri watched Victor as the Russian powered through his warmup laps during the wait for Beka's marks, making note of how intense he looked. He had been eye to eye with that expression before and knew Victor meant business. While it was nearly a given considering the scores to this point that Victor would most likely win, there was no mistaking that he was taking this just as seriously as if there was much more on the line than just his third World title – and perhaps there was.

Yuri had only seen Victor's long program for that season via video, as they hadn't been in the same competition save for Yuri's ill-fated appearance at the Grand Prix Final. The title of the Italian aria in English was “Stay Close To Me”, and it told the story of someone being afraid to lose the one they loved. Yuri had only just looked up the translated Italian title and lyrics the night prior, and he now wondered who it was that Victor had in mind when he'd commissioned the song to be written.

He tried not to let his mind wander over that for the moment as he watched Nikiforov skate. There was definitely none of the methodical, almost cold or businesslike feel to the performance, but quite the opposite. Yuri came to realize it had been quite some time since he'd seen the passionate, balletic side of Victor's skating even in the performances of this long program he'd seen on video, and he wondered what had changed between the European Championships and now. As Victor knocked off all of his planned quads: flip, Salchow, loop, and toe loop, with quads also included in two of his three combinations, Yuri felt the thrill he'd always remembered having when he'd watched Victor skate – the technical prowess, the artistic mastery, the emotions he was always able to pull out of the audience. By the time the Russian entered into his final spin combination the crowd was already rising to its feet and broke into a roar as soon as Victor hit his ending pose, after which he punched the air with both fists.

“Well, he's got his World title back,” Yuri said after applauding and cheering wildly along with Phichit. “Hopefully everyone will be happy now and let him be.”

“I hope so,” Phichit said as they watched the Jumbotron which was showing replays of Victor's elements.

The Jumbotron images switched back to the Kiss & Cry where Victor had been watching the replays with Lilia at his side. When both saw they were on camera Lilia leaned in to kiss Victor's cheek with a proud smile which brought the reaction of a smattering of “awwws” from the crowd. No one was surprised when the marks went up and Victor was the winner by nearly 10 points over Chris in second, with Otabek landing on the Worlds podium for the first time with a solid third place finish. All three men had laid down exceptional programs and definitely deserved the medals they'd earned.

As the staff began assembling the podium for the awards ceremony Yuri and Phichit made their way down to some lower seats that were empty near the entrance to the rink from the backstage area. They could see Victor giving an interview, having not bothered to go backstage while he waited for the medal ceremony; some cheers and shouts from the fans that had gathered around in the other seats alerted them to Chris and Otabek coming out as well. Upon hearing Yuri and Phichit's cheers Chris looked up and broke into a huge smile, blowing them both a kiss while Beka returned Yuri's double thumbs up with a bit of a smile of his own (which was rather rare for the usually-stoic Kazakh). Victor had just finished his interview and quickly turned around to find where the two familiar voices had come from and hurried over, breaking into a huge grin of his own when he spotted them. He was going to come closer to try to talk to them when all three men were called away as the medal ceremony began.

As Yuri watched, going between the live ceremony in front of him and the Jumbotron for closeups of each man on the podium, he noticed Victor looking very pensive especially when he received his medal. It wasn't that he didn't seem happy, but Yuri wondered what was going through his mind. He really hoped Victor wasn't planning on retiring, as had been one of the rumors swirling all week which had been fueled by Lilia sitting in as his coach. The Russian seemed quite proud, his usual smile in place after the Russian National Anthem was played and the flags raised.

Phichit and Yuri found a patch of empty seats where they could get down to the boards as the trio made their victory lap around the ice, cheering loudly as they drew near. Chris came over first, accepting a group hug from them both, with Otabek following after and returning their high fives. Once Victor was free from a small group who wanted selfies he hurried over; the sudden round of cheering from the crowd made Phichit look up to see that the cameras were showing Victor making a beeline for Yuri on the Jumbotron. Phichit stepped back as Victor practically tackle-hugged Yuri; it seemed he was about to start talking with Katsuki when one of the staff called the three men to end their victory lap, prompting Victor to return Phichit's hug and call out “I'll talk to you later!” to them both as he skated away.

“It's gonna be a while before they're free, they have the small medal ceremony and the press conference. Unless you wanna stay for the ladies free program, I say let's get back to the hotel,” Phichit said. “I just gotta grab my stuff from the locker room.”

“That sounds good,” Yuri agreed. “I don't have a pass to get back there with you so I'll just go wait by the shuttle bus entrance.” Phichit nodded and was about to turn away when Yuri called to him again.

“By the way, you came in fifth! That's the highest for you yet at Worlds!” Yuri said with a grin, reaching to hug his friend. “We got so caught up in everything I didn't even get a chance to say congratulations.”

Phichit grinned as he hugged back. “Yeah! Me fifth, Beka third and Leo twelfth in just his second Senior Worlds! See, we can hold down the fort while you're healing up!”

Yuri broke into a grin at that. “I didn't expect anything less. Now get going so we can duck out before the next wave of people come in.”

As Phichit headed back to the locker room Yuri made his way into the crowded hallways that were filled with people milling about in between the events. He pulled his beanie on and blended in, following the crowd until he reached the hallway leading to the hotel shuttle buses. He showed his pass and was let through by security, pausing once he was outside to text Phichit that he was waiting.

“Why are you hiding? Are you afraid of the Russians?”

Yuri kept his back turned to the unfamiliar voice, attempting to avoid a confrontation especially since the English was Russian-accented. There had been a group that had made the trip over to support their country's skaters that was a mix of fans and family members, but either way he had no desire to entertain the animosity.

“I'm talking to you, Katsuki.” Yuri knew for certain now by the blatant, emphasized mispronunciation of his name, kat-SOO-kee, that the person was attempting to be intimidating. As Phichit responded to his text by saying he was on his way out, Yuri felt a hand on his shoulder from behind that pulled him to face its owner. From the resemblance, Yuri guessed it was likely a relative of Georgi's.

“Why are you here if you can't skate?” the man demanded.

Yuri looked down, then took hold of and raised his press lanyard to the level of his face. “I did work for Japanese TV. And I came here to support my training mates. Because that's what you should do, even when you do compete against them.” Yuri wasn't sure where he was getting his sudden bit of nerve from as he laced his words with a bit of sarcasm, but he decided to go with it. When the other man seemed taken aback and paused before responding Yuri let his lanyard fall back to hanging around his neck and stepped back a pace when he saw Phichit approaching with Leo.

“Anything else?” Yuri replied with a heavier note of sarcasm in his tone.

“Yeah,” the man replied. “You are the reason Victor is turning his back on Russia. And Russia will not forget.”

“I barely know Victor, but there's no law that says we can't be cordial to each other or god forbid even be friends. But if he's decided to move on to another coach, that's his business and not mine. But all things considered, I can see why he'd have his reasons.”

“Everything all right over here?”

Yuri looked up to see a security guard had come over from where he'd been standing near the buses double-checking passes; Leo and Phichit were standing in his place and looking on; Yuri guessed they'd called upon him to help.

“No, we're done here,” Yuri said, casting the stranger one last glare before he headed over to his friends. They climbed onto the shuttle bus, keeping a wary eye out the window but found that the Russian man had not boarded; Georgi's emerging from the building a few minutes later and meeting up with him confirmed Yuri's assumption that the stranger was somehow tied to him.

“What was that about?” Leo wondered as the bus pulled out.

“He said that I'm the reason Victor is turning his back on Russia,” Yuri said. “I have no idea what that means, but I'm not the one telling Victor to look for another coach.”

“Maybe he meant it in the 'Victor is moving to a different coach because he can't beat you with this one' way,” Phichit said. “But it feels like a reach to even say that.”

“Victor keeps saying he wants to talk with me. Usually he's just like, 'let's catch up' whenever we're in the same place, but this time he's kind of like... adamant about it? And I don't know why,” Yuri said. “He's been acting a bit different all week, even in the interviews I saw before he knew I was here. I don't know if whatever this guy was on about has something to do with it.”

“Yeah, he seems preoccupied. But then again not being on speaking terms with your coach and having to compete that way has to be tough,” Leo said. “Does Lilia even know anything about skating?”

“She used to be Yakov's wife,” Yuri said, “but she was a Prima Ballerina with the Bolshoi, so once she retired she became his chief choreographer. She did all of Victor's Junior programs and helped him with the transition to Senior-level choreography, but once she and Yakov divorced she seemed to stop working with Victor and he started choreographing on his own. I don't think she'd be of any help technically, but from how he looked presentation-wise today she seemed to have helped him a lot.”

“So depending on how friendly she still is with Yakov, or not, probably made things tough too,” Phichit said. “Now that the competition's over I'm sure he'll be fine again. But you should see what he wants to talk to you about. It seems like it might be important.”

“I just... if it's something like me being the first person he tells that he's retiring... no thanks,” Yuri said with a soft laugh.

“I don't think it's that, if he wants to find a new coach,” Phichit said. “But you need to find out because I'm dying over here!”

“Oh I see, the ulterior motive jumps out!” Yuri laughed. “I'll wait till he gets in touch with me. I'm sure he'll be beat after today especially since press when you win goes on forever. It's probably nothing though, he just tends to be a bit dramatic sometimes.”

The bus pulled up to the hotel and the trio disembarked, weaving their way through the busy lobby filled with skaters from the men's event returning and the various ladies' competitors heading out to get to the venue. Just as they caught an elevator and the doors closed they all heard their phones go off at once, with Yuri recognizing the tone he'd set for the sender.

“It's Coach C,” he said as he pulled his phone out.

“Yeah same,” Leo said, with Phichit nodding in confirmation as well.

Yuri opened the message and found it was a group text sent to himself, Otabek, Leo and Phichit.

**Celestino:** Hey guys. I want you all to meet the team and I for dinner tonight. We've made reservations at the Finch for 7 pm. It's a casual place. Just get a cab for 6:30, it's not far from the hotel. See you then.

“Well that's cool, do you guys always get a dinner after Worlds?” Leo asked.

“Not usually,” Phichit said, a bit of a confused frown on his face.

“Yeah, but maybe because there's all of us together as a team now they're changing it up,” Yuri said. He looked down as Otabek's text popped up to say he'd be there, prompting the trio to each do the same as the elevator doors opened. “After all, it is our first year with Coach Rowan being at DSC too, and everyone did really well here. Gee maybe I shouldn't come, I mean, not like I did much!” Yuri laughed.

“Aww you still should come!” Leo said. “Wasn't your fault your ankle bailed out early.”

“I'm kidding!” Yuri laughed as Leo split off to head to his room. “Meet you in the lobby in a bit.”

  
  


  
  


Yuri, Phichit and Leo met up with Otabek and shared a cab for the ride over to the restaurant, which turned out to be a sports bar type place. As they walked in they asked for Celestino's table and were directed to one near the back, where coaches Cialdini, Warden and Muramoto were waiting. After congratulations were given all-around, drink orders taken and menus distributed, Leo looked over and noticed there was an extra chair at the table.

“Is someone else meeting us?” Leo questioned.

“Oh, yeah, he should be here any minute, he had a bunch of extra stuff to do this afternoon so he's running a little bit late,” Celestino said.

Yuri looked over at Phichit next to him and they both exchanged a confused frown; Phichit then mouthed the words “Something's up”, to which Yuri responded with a nod. For a few minutes everyone was distracted by everyone deciding what to order, the feel of the gathering relaxing a bit.

“Hello everyone, sorry I'm late.”

As they looked up from their menus, all four skaters were equally surprised to find Victor Nikiforov taking the empty seat at the corner of the table to Celestino's right as he sat at the head of it.

“Okay so, now that everyone's here,” Celestino said, his face turning the slightest bit worried as he looked around at the confused skaters, whose expressions were in direct contrast to the three coaches seated at the table who seemed to know what was going on. “So, this has kind of been in the works for a bit, but it wasn't until today that things were able to move forward. It's actually a little sudden for me as well because I was expecting more time to set everything up to tell all of you. But I think I'm gonna let Victor take it from here.”

Victor nodded, his face flushing over as he was given the floor. “So... I'm sure you've all heard the rumors about my wanting to find a new coach,” he began. “The RSF had been pushing me to go with a different Russian coach, but most of the time there's a definite pattern to Russian coaching where things are kind of the same, just with different people. Some people's methods are a little different but overall, there's a very tried and true formula that the majority of them follow. But for a while now I've been doing my homework and learning about other coaches in different countries and how they operate. I've been trying to find a good fit, and the main thing I've been needing is a better atmosphere, and a coach that's more positive and focuses on more than just skating but the overall well-being of the skater. I found out today that the RSF will allow me to find a coach from and train in another country, as long as I continue to represent Russia and my home rink in St. Petersburg.

“I don't want to quit skating yet, but I need to do it in a way that's more body-conscious. I know I probably won't be able to push for much more than I'm already capable of physically, but I need someone who understands that and works with me to change my skating to still be competitive but keeping all of this in mind. I've done lots of reading and watching interviews, and paying attention to the results, and I think I've found a match that would suit me well. And given the quality of the performances I've seen from their skaters, I think we'll work well together.”

Yuri felt his heart beginning to pound in his chest, his head feeling light as Victor looked over at Celestino.

“Bottom line is: Victor contacted me about a month ago asking if I had room for one more skater in my squad, but didn't want me to make a decision without everyone else's input,” Celestino continued. “You all know that my priorities are spread evenly, and with the coaching staff we have now, everyone is taken care of well. I know we've got a tight-knit family here, and we've already got one major champion, with a few more on the way if today's results were any indication. But, before I take on another big challenge, I want to hear from all of you on it.

“Victor's experience speaks for itself, and really we'd just be maintaining his current level and working with him on tooling his style for longevity in this sport, while giving him the atmosphere and the change he needs to continue to thrive and enjoy the rest of his competitive career, however long that is. He's emphasized that he doesn't want to take my focus away from any of you, and in fact he's willing to help out with his own considerable expertise, which all three of we coaches are completely on board with.

“So... be honest with me, like all of you know you always can be. How would you feel about Victor Nikiforov being your training mate at the Detroit Skating Club?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Late night posting? Why not right? 😆 I do have to say my posting here may become a bit irregular for the next several weeks. The possibility of moving to a new home has been lurking in the background for a while, and an opportunity has come up rather quickly. There is a _lot_ to be done and probably not a lot of time to do it, so my writing time may be cut down significantly for a while. However! If that does happen, just know that I will not be leaving you all hanging and the fic **will** be finished! If I do have to take a substantial break, I'll post a "chapter" with a message saying as much, so that subscribers will be notified and anyone reading will know as well (which will obviously be deleted when I pick back up). I don't know what the next 1-2 months will bring, so I just wanted to let everyone know. 💙💜


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I don't think anyone really realizes how gutsy this whole thing is. He wants this change, he wants to have this experience, he wants what we have. But I feel like he'll probably have trouble letting go of everything he's been taught, and I get how that feels. But mostly... I think he just feels like he's alone, like no one listens to him or treats him like a human. And that's not right. Because underneath it all he's just... not like what the world sees, at all.”

There was silence at the table for a few very long moments, during which Victor pulled his lower lip in a bit to nibble on it with worry.  _ Maybe dinner wasn't the best place for this... _

“I don't have a problem with it,” Otabek finally said. “I have always thought he would probably fit in well there.”

“It would take a little getting used to,” Leo said, his voice a bit bashful in tone, his cheeks red. Leo and Yuri had talked more than once about Victor, as Leo also admired him and was inspired to begin trying to choreograph his own programs because of him. “But yeah! I think it would be cool!”

“It would just be different but not a big deal after everyone settled in,” Phichit said. “We had to adjust to Beka and Leo but it took like... a couple days? Though I think we get a little too crazy for Beka sometimes!”

Otabek smirked. “I just watch you all till the coffee wears off!”

“Yuri? You okay over there buddy?” Celestino asked when he realized Yuri had not yet responded.

“Huh? Oh... Yeah, I mean... like Phichit said it might take a little bit to get used to...” Yuri was still processing the concept in his head, and trying to place his words carefully. _I guess this is why he wanted to talk to me..._

“I know you and Celestino are very close,” Victor said, his tone reassuring. “I don't intend to come between that. I know how important that bond is to you both, because I've discussed that with him. But if this is going to be too difficult, I don't want to cause any problems...”

“No! No, it's not like that,” Yuri said softly. “I just... I'm happy, just surprised...”

Victor could tell Yuri had a lot more to say, but likely didn't want to talk in front of everyone else. “All right.” There was a pause in the conversation then as the waitress came to take everyone's order. Once she left, Victor knew he had to speak up quickly to keep the awkward tension from returning.

“Let's do this. I have planned on staying an extra week here in the US during which I am coming to Detroit to do a test skate with Celestino, take a look around the club and get an idea about where to live,” Victor began, then turning to Celestino. “Why don't we let this sit with everyone until the end of the week. We'll see how it is for me to be around the club for a few days, to be on the ice with everyone, and take it from there.”

“That's a good thought,” Celestino said. “The plan was for you to feel out the atmosphere anyway and get an idea for how we'd work together. Technically you and I haven't made a final decision about each other yet either.”

“Well the thing we know about you though is that you don't go so far as to have a test week with a skater unless you are seriously considering taking them on,” Otabek noted. “You are the head coach, and you and the coaching team really should have the final say who comes in. At least that's how it works back at home.”

Victor nodded. “There's no say who a coach takes on in Russia either. You just adapt. But also at Yubileyny it goes by seniority and hierarchy there. If you are the skater with the most competitive potential or the highest-ranked overall, you will get the head coach's full attention. There's no dispute on my part that Celestino's top-ranked is Yuri. I'm still coming in as a new skater and as far as I'm concerned that's where his priority will lie.”

“That's not how it works with us though,” Phichit said. “Yeah Yuri is highest-ranked out of everyone, but we all get the same amount of work with Coach C every day. Coach Satsuki and Coach Rowan consult on things too and are a fresh pair of eyes when we need it, stuff like that. But once you're here you're part of the family.”

Leo nodded. “Yeah, everyone's equal here, it doesn't matter how good you are. You might get extra help if there's something specific you're working on or having trouble with, but that's not playing favorites, that's just how it should be.”

Yuri watched Victor's face as he listened, noticing how his expression changed from attentive to surprised at what he was hearing. “Yeah... it might seem like Coach C gives me extra attention but that's because you saw us at competitions where either I was his only skater there or Phichit was covered for practices with Muramoto-sensei. But everyone gets their time with him no matter what's going on. It's always been important to him that everyone's treated equally.”

There was another pause as the food came, and for the first few minutes everyone dug in, the atmosphere having lifted considerably as the conversation had made things clearer. Yuri noticed Victor seeming deep in thought as he ate his dinner, remaining quiet as some light conversation carried on around the table. Celestino seemed to catch onto it as well and looked over at Victor with a bit of concern. “You okay there Victor?” he asked.

“I was just thinking... that I don't know what it's like to feel equal to everyone else.”

Nikiforov's words gave everyone pause, with Rowan and Satsuki both frowning curiously.

“Ever since I was found by Yakov and moved to Yubileyny, I've always been treated as the number one priority. Everyone else got some attention from him, but for the most part it was with other coaches at the rink. Once I started showing real promise in Juniors, for most of the other skaters there he was their coach in name only. I grew up believing I was better than everyone else and for a very long time, I subscribed to that. I was molded to believe I was invincible, unbeatable, and more important than anyone else.

“But with that comes the responsibility of being the face of the club, being perfect even in practice sessions, using your skill to be intimidating to the 'lesser' skaters so they respect you and more or less compete to be in your position even in practice. You're not allowed bad days at the rink when you're supposed to be the legendary example everyone else is following. Training at Chris' rink away from that mindset has helped me break from it somewhat but... it will be a different experience to just be part of a group where we're all seen as equal. I guess out of everyone, I'll need to make the biggest adjustments. I'll need to learn how to switch off and just be myself around everyone... if I even really know what that means anymore.”

“Sounds like the typical Russian emphasis on the star of the moment,” Celestino said. “We always heard about that back when I was skating too. I remember people being surprised at how 'normal' Soviet, and then later Russian, skaters were behind the scenes. When they were on the ice for practice or competition they came off as cold, like machines sometimes, and very intimidating.”

“It's definitely not as easy to keep that up now,” Victor said. “There are too many ways for our skaters to reach out to fans and show we're actually human. But when you have a Russian coach that competed in the Soviet era and then took on that style of coaching, some of them still try very hard to keep that facade in play and teach their skaters to be that way, the 'old way'. As younger coaches are coming up it's changing... but I ended up being trained Soviet-style while my career developed in the post-Soviet era. I need someone with completely different way of doing things. Which is ultimately why I came to you.”

“Honestly, it sounds like DSC will be a good fit then,” Celestino said. “But we'll give it the test run this coming week, and you can make your final decision then.”

The dinner proceeded with more general discussion that almost felt like a welcome gathering of sorts as Victor continued to open up more about his skating career behind the scenes, and Celestino telling a few stories from his time as a competitor. By the end of the evening there was already the feeling of Victor blending in well and the taxi bus back to the hotel was a fun ride, with those that were of age to drink a bit tipsy. Everyone parted ways at the elevators and returned to their rooms; as soon as Yuri and Phichit were safely in theirs they both stopped and stared at each other for a few moments, with Yuri's head slightly fuzzy from two glasses of wine.

“I... guess that's probably why Victor wanted to talk to you,” Phichit finally said as he sat down on his bed, kicking off his shoes and flopping back on it.

“I still think it was better that I didn't get in his way this week,” Yuri said. “But... yeah, wow.”

“How are you feeling about this?” Phichit asked as he sat up to face Yuri, who had come over to sit down on his own bed.

“Honestly?” Yuri said. “Between what he's told me and what Chris told us the other day... if anyone can help him, it's Coach C. I... I mean, I've been there. Not in the same way obviously but... he's kind of the opposite of me, but the same too? I was just average, a dime-a-dozen skater before I came to Coach C. He pointed me in the right direction when I came here, helped me address issues I didn't even really know could be fixed. He made me believe in myself enough to get where I am today. For Victor... he hasn't been allowed to think of himself as a normal person. The way Russian fans came down on him after Sochi and how they transferred their anger to me? It all makes sense now. He's not the only one that was made to believe he was invincible, his fans were taught that too, and they needed someone to blame when he stumbled. He's going to need help to get through all that... to be himself, and still be a great skater. I had to relearn how to look at skating both on and off the ice... and he does too, just for different reasons.”

“Yeah... the stuff he was talking about... could you imagine hiding all that? Could you imagine being terrified of your coach growing up? Being told you were nothing if you didn't do things right? I just... he hid all that and held it in. No wonder he's gotten to the point he's at now,” Phichit said, shaking his head sadly. “I really think he'll end up staying, how could he not?”

Yuri's phone chimed at that moment with the text tone he'd assigned to Victor. Phichit recognized it and smiled. “What's up?”

“He wants to talk, like I thought he would,” Yuri said. “He says Chris is out somewhere so he wants me to come to his room.”

“Sounds good. I'm gonna see what Leo's up to then,” Phichit said.

Yuri made his way up to the sixth floor, being a bit wary while doing so; all he needed was the wrong person seeing him heading to Victor's room, especially after the altercation with the stranger at the shuttle buses earlier that day. He felt slightly anxious until Victor opened the door in answer to his knock and he was inside.

“I'm sorry I didn't talk to you sooner,” Yuri began. “If I'd known...”

“No, don't worry about it,” Victor said as he gestured for Yuri to sit at the table in the room before taking the chair opposite him. “I understand where you were coming from. I tend to worry about things a lot sometimes where I just want to get them done so I know what's going to happen, if that makes any sense.”

Yuri smirked at that. “More sense than you realize, I think.”

“How's that?” Victor asked with a curious frown.

“What you just described is anxiety. It was one of the reasons I skated like crap for so long. I just wanted to get out there and get the hard stuff done so I could enjoy it. I'd rush all my jumps, mess up most of them, then just want to get done and off the ice because I skated badly. It works the same way when you have to worry about what's going to happen from day to day, or what people are going to say. I never realized it till I started working with Dr. Jeff.”

Victor was quiet for a bit before a wry smile crossed his face in response. “I'm starting to think we're more alike than either of us realized.”

“Yeah, me too,” Yuri said.

“I think that's why I suggested the dinner to Celestino. I was worried about the reaction everyone would have to me coming to DSC even just to try out, so I wanted to get everyone's input right away. I was most worried about you though. You're so close with him, you have a very special relationship when it comes to skating, and I didn't want you to feel like I was going to take away from that.”

“I might have thought like that if this had happened right after the Olympics,” Yuri said. “It would have been a very different feeling.”

Victor laughed at that. “You stole my gold medal! Now I'll steal your coach!”

Yuri broke into laughter in response. “Exactly!” He then settled back down to continue this thoughts. “But I know more about you and about everything now than I did before. And honestly if you've learned enough about Coach C, I can understand why you're doing this.”

“I read his autobiography, and the book he wrote specifically about coaching. And watched and read a lot of interviews,” Victor replied. “He took his own experiences with skating and what he went through at the end of his career and became the coach he would have wanted to have.”

Yuri nodded at that. “What we all were talking about at dinner is true though. Part of the reason Phichit's and Leo's coaches relocated is because Coach C knew them both through competitions. He's been wanting to build up a team of coaches that all have the same attitudes, the same values, so he invited them to see how they liked it here and both ended up staying. He gives everyone equal attention for two out of the four sessions a day, and all four of us are on the ice together. Then the two middle sessions Coach Ro and Muramoto-sensei will work with us to either give him a break or if one of us has a competition, or something specific to work on, that's who Coach will go one-on-one with for that session. But no one is more important to him or 'deserves' more attention. He makes sure we are all taken care of.”

“And that's why you're so humble. You aren't treated as untouchable even though you're the Olympic Champion,” Victor said, his tone thoughtful.

“But you're humble too,” Yuri offered.

“To be honest? The Olympics humbled me,” Victor replied. “It was the beginning of me seeing through the smoke and mirrors. When it happened, I had the impulse to be angry, to be mean, to go the route Yakov would. To be on the defensive and talk shit, like Celestino said it was with Russian skaters and coaches back when he competed. But there was also that part of me that was buried that came out of those cracks that happened in the armor, that reminded me I wasn't that way. And when the world felt like it turned on me, that was when I knew I had to do something to change before it was too late. In retrospect... You winning was probably the best thing that could have happened to me.”

“Don't tell the Russian fans,” Yuri smirked even as a blush played over his face. “But... don't take this the wrong way but... with the stuff you were talking about at dinner, I feel like Dr. Jeff could help you a lot. I mean, you're realizing a lot on your own, but sometimes it helps to talk to someone who can help you sort it out and figure out what it all means. Even if you think you know how to fix it, it never hurts to get another view.”

“No, I get that,” Victor nodded reassuringly. “It wouldn't be a bad idea.”

“I don't know if DSC is as fancy as Yubileyny,” Yuri said. “But we have a lot of good things there. We basically live there during the season. Gym with trainers to help out with off-ice, dance classes, extras like that. We do have to share ice with the hockey games sometimes though, but the good thing about that is that some mornings we come in to pretty rough ice if there's been a game the night before in our rink. Coach C says it prepares us for different ice conditions and not gonna lie, it does. In the summer, sometimes it's humid and the ice is softer, stuff like that. He just... he finds a positive swing to everything. You turn things around and use it to help you somehow.”

“That was what the rink I started in was like. Only the very top skaters in Russia can afford places like Yubileyny, because the RSF pays for their ice time. That's another major difference here. I found it interesting when Beka said he gets more out of his sessions because you pay for them by the hour, so the coaches are all-in and work harder. In Russia, the ice time is free for those that the RSF supports, and you take it for granted. It's also not great because it made me think I could just skate for as long as I wanted to... and sometimes I just wouldn't stop.”

“Yeah, I'd heard that too about Russian training, that some coaches keep you doing things a million times, over and over till it's right.”

“It was usually Lilia that would pull me back. She would get angry with me when I would skip meals to skate too. She was usually the only one that cared about that because she had seen too much of it in the ballet world.”

“Oh man, don't let Coach find out you're not eating right. He gets _really_ mad at that. He's seen too many skaters have different issues in that vein and he makes sure we see a nutritionist. During the season we change up how we eat, learned about carb loading before competing, all different stuff.”

“I... guess I better get used to more than protein bars and shakes and skipping lunch to keep skating,” Victor said, the smile on his face ironic.

“Oh _man_ I don't even know how he'd handle lecturing you about that!” Yuri laughed. “I can't even picture it. Coach C bitching out Victor Nikiforov for skipping lunch!”

“We should stage it for online, show how all-business he is!” Victor laughed.

“Oh he'd play along as long as it was clearly a joke,” Yuri said. “He's pretty chill overall as long as your goals for the day are met. A lot of times you have very modest ones, but there's always something to shoot for, even if it's 'land one clean quad flip' or 'have one runthrough with 95 percent or higher jump success'.”

“Only 95?” Victor blinked. “Not like, 5, 10 perfect runthroughs?”

“Oh god no. Even if you have a runthrough with one step-out, or maybe a couple shaky landings, that's still a good day. You don't beat yourself up if you're not always perfect. But having that wiggle room makes you want to go for 100 percent. If you're only allowed 100, where is there to go but down from there, you know? Even if you have a competition coming up, stressing about being perfect even in practice is crazy. If you push too hard, you leave it at home and you get to the competition exhausted. We taper off the day or two before we travel too.”

“It really does sound like I'm going to have a lot to learn,” Victor said. “Even when I was practicing with Chris, his coach kept saying I was working too hard and I didn't understand why he said that, and why it seemed like Chris didn't work hard at all. That was when I started to realize that sure, skating as much as I always have had helped me get where I was but... maybe it wasn't normal. Now I'm listening to you and also remembering what I've read and talked about with Celestino and finding it really isn't.”

“I mean, Russia has so many legends for a reason,” Yuri said. “I know they have a hard work ethic, but I think maybe yours was not even normal by Russian standards.”

Victor nodded at that. “There were a few Russian coaches that have reached out to me over the years, that I'd done workshops with for their students. I'd watch how they did their sessions and while the work ethic was there, there were things that were looked at differently. There were one or two that put it out there that if I ever wanted to change, they'd be open to taking me on. Even so... I like the idea of getting out of Russia. Aside from the different training methods, being in Lausanne felt nice because I didn't get stopped on the street everywhere I went.”

“Honestly, when I go home to Japan that's what it's like too,” Yuri said. “I can concentrate at DSC, there's no distractions. The only reason I get recognized there is because there's been a couple newspaper and TV news things about the club and who skates there and people know I'm here. But for the greater part no one bothers you.”

Victor was quiet for a bit again, the thoughtful expression playing over his face making Yuri curious. “Honestly, the tryout week is probably a formality at this point,” Nikiforov admitted. “No matter what it's like, I'm sure I'll find a way to be at home there. It will take a little time because I have to secure a place to live, make sure Makkachin is up on his shots so I can bring him over, and get everything squared away with the RSF. But I'm in no hurry... because I don't think I'm going to compete in the Grand Prix Series this season. I'll likely just shoot for starting with Russian Nationals. I need the time to regroup and get used to things.”

“That's not a bad idea,” Yuri said. “You probably really would benefit from it. As much as it sucks to be injured, when I found out I was probably going to be out for the rest of the season I was kind of okay with it. But I'm starting to really miss it and I can't wait to get back.”

Victor smiled softly. “I do want to get back to competing eventually though. To be honest I've missed you... out there on the ice. Chris might try to kick my ass, but he's not wanting to do more quads this late in his career. You were my only real competition.”

“I mean... no offense but it felt like it took some of the pressure off, for me anyway,” Yuri said. “And then at the Final, I kind of pushed harder because I felt it coming back. But I did miss the challenge too.”

“I can see how it would feel less stressful, and there was that for me too,” Victor admitted. “But that was the other thing the Olympics gave me... something to inspire me, push me to work harder... until I hit a plateau. Now I'm seeing I don't have to work harder in the way I have always been taught... I just need to change how I do it. But I can't help but wonder what it will be like to compete against each other with this change, with me being your training mate now.”

“It will be like it's been for us behind the scenes, when the fans and the media and whatever else don't get in the way,” Yuri said. “Phichit and I have always had the understanding that when we're on the ice competing, everything else is put away. You don't do less than your best just because it's your best friend out there. At the end of the day, I know he's still working on coming up and getting better all the time, and he knows how hard I worked to relearn everything about myself and get to where I am. You respect the process along with the skater. We all work hard to be where we are, but that doesn't mean we can't be friends and root for each other to do their best, or that we can't help each other along the way.”

Victor smiled at that, nodding in agreement. “That's very true. I think of everything, that will be the easiest thing to learn.”

  
  


  
  


Leo had come down to Phichit and Yuri's room to hang out as Otabek had elected to call it a night and go to bed in the room he and Leo shared. The pair had been discussing the events of the night and periodically checking their phones for gossip about the event when Leo's eyes went wide.

“Oh crap. Seriously??”

“What's wrong?” Phichit asked.

“Somebody was in the restaurant. They weren't close enough to hear what we were talking about, they were over by the bar. But they posted a couple of pics where you could pretty much see who everyone is and put it out there that Victor was seen having dinner with Team DSC. Twitter is flipping its shit now.”

Phichit buried his face in one hand with a groan. “Ughhhh. As soon as I found out why we were all there, I actually had the thought that something like this would happen. I'm glad we're all done with the competition or we'd be getting bugged about it.”

“I wouldn't be surprised if that's why Victor waited till tonight,” Leo said. “He probably didn't want it to take away from anything else, not to mention he'd be getting bombarded too.”

“Any blogs picking up on it yet?” Phichit asked.

“The Spiral Sequence Twitter retweeted that tweet. Nothing else is out there yet but the rumors are flying. Didn't Yuri say that guy that was bugging him was Russian and said something about Victor turning his back on Russia? I wonder who else that dude told about this beforehand?” Leo wondered.

“Honestly I think that guy was just assuming. It's not like it wasn't obvious Victor wanted out of where he was. I'm sure there were people from skating Twitter in Russia gossiping because so many people are linked to the RSF there. If he's been going back and forth about this since the beginning of the season with the RSF there's probably enough out there as it is for whoever that person was to have figured that much. And also if he is related somehow to Georgi, I'm sure Georgi is telling him everything. But now with this getting out... holy crap.”

“The other thing though... was that guy said Yuri was the reason it was going to happen,” Leo said. “I just hope it won't cause more problems for Yuri like after the Olympics.”

Phichit stared at Leo for a few moments as the thought sank in, then sighed heavily. “Oh. Shit. Victor leaving to go train _with_ Yuri is... yeah, that's not going to go over well.”

As Phichit was speaking the words the door lock clicked and Yuri walked in, stopping as he saw the expressions on both of their faces. “Uh... what's going on?”

Instead of trying to explain, Leo handed Yuri his phone which was open to the tweet about the dinner and the long thread of replies to it, though the majority of them were in Russian. Katsuki scrolled about halfway through them before handing it back to Leo.

“Victor was pretty sure something like this would happen. It's not like we'd have been exactly hidden while he skated at DSC for the week anyway. We both know there's nothing we can do about it. If anyone asks you about it, just say you're not allowed to say anything. Victor's just not going to comment at all. It's going to be crazy for a few weeks now till something official comes out and even then it's going to be a mess.”

“That's how it usually goes. Coaching changes are always crazy but this... yeah,” Phichit said.

“We all might get some crap about it,” Leo said. “But it's just people on the internet that don't know the whole story and just _want_ there to be drama. They want us to all hate each other because it's more fun that way. We just gotta listen to Coach C and not let it bother us.”

“It might be easier said than done at first,” Yuri nodded. “He and I will probably get the most of it. But what can you do, you know?”

“Anyway enough of that. How did your talk with Victor go?” Phichit grinned.

“We mostly talked shop, really. He did ask a bit about DSC and we talked about that too. But mostly about what's to come,” Yuri said.

“He seems kind of... just stuck on skating,” Leo said. “Even in his interviews he doesn't really talk about other stuff much. And tonight he really just talked about skating at dinner too.”

Yuri was quiet for a bit after that as he seemed to debate what to say. “He... it's pretty much all he's known. His whole life has been built around it. When he said he didn't really know how to be himself... it's kind of the truth. I talked a bit about how we hang out after practice, go to the movies or to have dinner somewhere sometimes, and he'd just say stuff like 'I just go home and read or I go right to bed because I was at the rink for 12 hours'. I just... I feel like he doesn't have much outside of it. It was like the only thing we both have in common.”

“Coach always tells us to go have fun when we've finished for the day,” Phichit said. “He was happy when we started hanging out with Leo and we'd get Otabek to go to dinner or whatever. He doesn't like it when you don't have a life other than skating.”

“Honestly, I think that's going to be Victor's biggest problem,” Yuri added. “I really don't think he's ever known the kind of atmosphere we have. I mean, we've talked with Chris and he's said how much he practices, what he does in a day... yet Victor said he felt like Chris doesn't work very hard, if that tells you anything.”

Phichit's eyes went wide at that. “Wait. He says Chris doesn't work hard? Chris practices six hours a day, seven to eight before competitions, and does a ton of off-ice, even stuff that isn't conventional like pole-dance classes.”

“I wasn't kidding when I said Victor talked about 12-hour days at the rink. I was serious. All he does is skate, practice jumps over and over, and does like... 10 runthroughs of his programs on a long day like that. And he did that at least twice a week, sometimes three times, while he was in St. Petersburg.”

“I'm kind of shocked Victor's still in one piece when you think about it,” Leo said. “How has he avoided being injured if he trains that much?”

“He's skated through the minor ones, never talked about them. The most public injury he had was the one from working on the quad loop. There's just... some of the stuff he just threw out there casually, it... was a lot to unpack. I told him that he probably really needs to talk with Dr. Jeff,” Yuri said.

Leo snortlaughed at that, taking on an exaggerated tone to his voice. “Hi Victor welcome to DSC! You really need to see a sports shrink buddy!”

“You actually told him that though?” Phichit said with a surprised expression. “Was he pissed?”

“No. He said he thought it was a good idea. He's realistic about all this stuff. It's just... I think the adjustments are going to be the hardest part. He said he's probably skipping the GP Series this year and I think that's a good idea. And I think we're all going to have to get used to him in our own ways, and help him too. I don't think anyone really realizes how gutsy this whole thing is,” Yuri said, shaking his head a bit. “He wants this change, he wants to have this experience, he wants what we have. But I feel like he'll probably have trouble letting go of everything he's been taught, and I get how that feels. But mostly... I think he just feels like he's alone, like no one listens to him or treats him like a human. And that's not right. Because underneath it all he's just... not like what the world sees, at all.”

  
  


  
  


**Spiral Sequence – Figure Skating Reporting with an Edge** by Nicky Gontcharov

This gif pretty much sums up the last month or so since the World Championships, when the rumors began flying about Victor Nikiforov. The day after a fan on Twitter posted pics of an apparent power dinner happening in Boston where the newly-crowned World Champion was seen dining with Team DSC – with even Yuri Katsuki in attendance, confirming the myriad of sightings that had been tweeted about all week – Yakov Feltsman blabbed to the press that Victor has been actively looking for a new coach, and that Lilia Baranovskaya had pretty much been Nikiforov's de-facto coach all season as he and Victor were no longer on speaking terms. Ms. Baranovskaya declined to comment, saying that she would not speak for Nikiforov on the matter.

The RSF however refused to confirm or deny what was going on, but then we started getting reports from the Junior skaters over at Detroit Skating Club that in the week following Worlds Victor Nikiforov was skating at DSC, working on his programs for his Victor and Friends tour but also appearing to take technical advice and direction from Celestino Cialdini. He also shared practice sessions with the rest of the brood under Cialdini's wing: Leo de la Iglesia, Phichit Chulanont, Otabek Altin and Yuri Katsuki. Victor had some time with each member of the coaching team, and we even had a few photos come in including some adorable ones where Victor and Yuri had some fun teaching the Novice and Juniors some basics during a couple of impromptu seminars. The main thing everyone said about what they saw was that Victor seemed to be making himself quite at home.

And so that brings us to the bombshell that was dropped today. The Russian Skating Federation formally announced that Victor Nikiforov, its biggest star and current reigning Grand Prix Final, Russian National, European and World Champion, is pulling up roots and officially moving to the Detroit Skating Club to be coached by Celestino Cialdini, who is rapidly becoming one of the premiere coaches in skating. This, my dear readers, is MASSIVE. There has never been a Russian skater that didn't train with a Russian coach, even if they lived out of the country (a prime example: back in the day Yagudin still had Tarasova as his coach even though both lived in the US).

But for a Russian skater to have a Western coach  _ and _ live in a country other than Russia? I guess you can say Nikiforov hasn't lost his touch for being surprising. Add to that the fact that he's taking the first half of the season off to adjust to the changes – another part of this bargain that the RSF is turning heads with allowing – and you have pretty much the biggest shakeup of the year in skating. Of course, the trash talk out of Yubileyny has already begun, and I'm pretty sure we're going to have the modern-day equivalent of the great on-ice and off-ice rivalry of Plushenko/Yagudin, only with Popovich/Nikiforov (or, possibly, the new upstart Yuri Plisetsky, who will be joining the Senior ranks this coming fall. But that's a whole other kettle of fish for another day).

The dark side of the Russian skating fandom is primed and ready for battle and even former Nikiforov supporters are moving over to Popovich and even Plisetsky, already calling Victor a “fake Russian” and accusing him of treason (too far? Even this Russian feels it is, if I'm being honest). But the trolls will be trollin' and if I were Nikiforov I would stay as far away from social media as humanly possible, and keep those comments turned off on Instagram.

The other potential targets in the line of fire are Nikiforov's new rinkmates, but none more so than Yuri Katsuki. The Japanese prodigy was out for the second half of this past season with a gruesome ankle injury (trust me, don't look up the footage, it's brutal. I cringe just thinking about it) and I have to admit his presence was greatly missed. Nikiforov has inferred more than once that the two were at least cordial with each other, especially with that one Instagram post that shook the skating world about a year ago at this time where the pair dared to take a selfie together at the Shanghai Worlds banquet. For quite some time now some of the Russian fandom has blamed Katsuki for what they see as Nikiforov's “decline”, even going so far as to say that the only reason Victor won any gold this year is because his “grandpa” self didn't have Katsuki there to kick his ass. (Let's not mention that if Katsuki  _ had _ been there kicking his ass, they'd have been ripping Katsuki to shreds and saying Nikiforov wasn't being scored appropriately. Let's just... not. You didn't hear that from me.)

So once the Victor and Friends tour is over Nikiforov will be making the move to Detroit, and it will be interesting to see what happens from there. The RSF will likely give him a bye as far as qualifying for Nationals, so we'll unfortunately have to wait until then to see if anything's changed as far as his technique or overall personality. But one thing's for sure, the rumors and gossip will be keeping people like your humble blogger quite busy in this off-season and the season to come, and let me tell you, I can't wait!

  
  


  
  


Yuri began the step sequence with a great deal of speed, flying down the center of the ice. The steps were choreographed to lead into the jump, but he only focused on the feel of the ice beneath his blades, the thrill of finally moving at full power. Even though Celestino had wondered about the wisdom of the jump he'd chosen, Yuri had his reasons. If he didn't do this, it would eventually creep up and consume him.

_The pain is gone._

_I am stronger now than I was even back then._

_I can still do this._

_My will is stronger than my fear._

Left foot, back inside edge. Right toepick. Four revolutions. Right foot, back outside edge. The satisfying crunch of his blade biting into the ice, the ragged hiss of the runout as he held his body in position, back strengthened by the extra off-ice training he'd done while unable to skate, legs supporting him with the muscle rebuilt from the same training.

The whoops and cheers of his rinkmates brought his mind back into focus and he relaxed out of the landing position, gliding over to the end of the rink where everyone had assembled to watch. As he approached, Yuri found himself breaking into a laugh and a grin as everyone began a “we're not worthy” kowtow.

“I think that looks a million times more solid than even before you were hurt,” Celestino grinned. “How did it feel?”

“Really good,” Yuri said. “Not bad for the first quad in almost six months.”

“Not bad, he says.”

Yuri turned toward the voice to look over at Victor, who was leaning on the boards with one elbow, one foot propped on the back end of a blade. “Yeah, not bad. The entry could have been cleaner,” he countered.

“It will get there,” Celestino said. “We haven't even got all the choreo squared away on this long program yet. We have some time to ease into things. I don't want you pushing too fast.”

“He's right, you know,” Victor said as the rest of the group – Leo, Phichit and Beka – skated back out to continue their practice. “You'll be feeling that tonight. You should probably ice it when you get your boots off.”

“I know. I won't push too hard. But it does feel really good to know I can still do this. It feels like it's been forever. I expected to fall, honestly. But I just did my best not to.”

“It's extremely impressive that you did land it,” Victor nodded as they skated a lazy lap around the edge of the rink to warm up their legs a bit more. “But don't let that fool you into trying too many just yet.”

“If I do any others today it will probably be just toes,” Yuri replied. “But now that I've been cleared to go back to full training, I need to get on track again. Coach is thinking I should do the Autumn Classic in Montreal at the end of September, to get my competition legs back under me.”

“I think that's a good idea,” Victor agreed. “Returning with a big time competition like a GP event is a lot of pressure that you don't need when you're coming back from an injury.”

“I like warming up for the season with a B competition. There's not a huge emphasis on winning, although it's nice to. I try to do that one when I can anyway because it's not a big deal travel-wise too.”

The pair skated around to where Celestino was talking with Otabek, pausing to wait until the coach was free. “I meant to ask you where your music came from for your long this year,” Victor said. “It's beautiful.”

“Oh, a friend of mine and Phichit's from the university wrote it for me,” Yuri said. “She was inspired by my skating and by an interview I did where I talked about all the people who have supported me: my family, my coach and my friends here at DSC. She called it 'Yuri on Ice'. I haven't figured out the story I'm going to tell with it quite yet though, that's why I'm still working on choreo. I've got about a month to pull it together so I'm not too worried. Right now I'm looking for short program music.”

“I've always tried to do my programs to where they're opposites of each other musically and stylistically,” Victor said. “You should go for something that will make the long program more surprising.”

“I've been telling him that too,” Celestino said as he walked up to them on the other side of the boards. “I think it's time for him to shake things up a bit. This long program is a bit of a departure because the music is original, but I'm feeling like it's time for something really unexpected for the short program.”

Victor crossed one arm over his chest, one finger of the opposite hand curled pensively over his lips as he turned thoughtful. “You know, I have some music that I was going to use for my short program this past season but ended up scrapping it. Even if I do end up doing the second half of the season, I don't think I'll end up going with it anyway.” He reached for his jacket that was draped over the boards, pulling his phone out of his pocket and pulling up the song. Celestino and Yuri leaned in as he turned the volume up all the way to listen as a flamenco-flavored piece of music played.

“I like it,” Celestino said. “It's definitely different than anything you've done before Yuri.”

Yuri seemed a bit apprehensive as he listened. “Hm... it's really different, but I'm not sure if I'd really know what to do with it...”

“I can skate it for you,” Victor smiled. “I already had it choreographed for the most part, except for a couple of transitions I didn't have finalized.”

“Oh hey, he came prepared!” Celestino laughed. “If you want you can take your phone over to Joe at the sound desk and he can run it through the system.”

Victor winked and took off toward the sound booth before Yuri could object, then after a few minutes of discussion with the sound man he skated to center ice. Phichit, Leo and Beka all saw Victor taking what looked to be an opening pose so they cleared the way, moving over to the boards to watch.

The piece began with a flourish of guitar which Victor accentuated with fluid arm movements, then a bit of footwork where he skidded to a stop, striking a pose with one hip cocked and a wickedly-sexy smirk and flip of hair. As the music kicked in fully he launched into what turned into both of the required choreographic sequences separated by a spin sequence in between, the steps intricate and extremely challenging. As he continued on through the program both Celestino and Yuri could see where it was a bit unfinished, with the jump placement undecided and at least one transition not quite polished. But the overall feel of the program was quite provocative, the level of difficulty high even in its unfinished state. As he struck the ending pose – one knee bent, arms wrapped around himself, head tipped back – the few people present in the rink both on and off the ice applauded as Victor came back over to the “coaching corner”.

“Well, what do you think?” Victor grinned.

“I... I don't know, I'm not sure I can pull off that... kind of presentation,” Yuri said; Victor couldn't help but laugh a bit at the bright flush over Yuri's cheeks.

“I gotta say, I don't think I've ever seen Yuri skate like _that_ ,” Celestino said. “But that would be the challenge of it, to portray a character that you haven't done before. I think it would turn a lot of heads.”

Phichit had been skating by and caught a bit of the discussion, causing him to skid to a stop so quickly he kicked up some snow. “Waiiiiit hold up. You were showing that for  _ Yuri _ to use?” he said, eyes wide.

“I think he can pull it off,” Victor said. “What do you think?”

“Oh you should totally do it Yuri!” Phichit grinned. “ _Nobody_ is going to expect that program from you!”

Leo had come over by this point to see what was up, his coach Rowan walking along behind the boards off-ice. She came over to stand next to Celestino, overdramatically fanning herself. “Well Victor, that was certainly a hot program, what's it for?” she asked; in response Victor grinned and winked.

“Well thank you. It was a piece I ended up not using this past season, but I don't know if I want to use it anymore. So I was thinking Yuri could.”

“Wait, what?” she smiled. “Sweet little Yuri skating _that?_ Oh, well I don't know...”

“That's what I said!” Yuri laughed. “See? I told you!”

“But,” Rowan continued, “If you did use that program, no one would see it coming. And also, how funny would it be for you to make your comeback with a program choreographed by your arch rival?”

“Ohhhhhh wait, hold up!” Leo said with a mischievous grin.

“She's got a point there,” Celestino smirked. “There's a serious level of difficulty in this program too, aside from that.”

“It's really up to you, ultimately,” Victor said as Celestino shooed Phichit and Leo back to training, prompting Rowan to head back to her coaching station a bit away.

“Oh definitely,” Celestino said. “But in all honesty, I think you can pull it off. You wanna come back with a bang, this might be the right way to go. It's quite the statement piece.”

“Well... I mean... I can give it a shot,” Yuri said, feeling the blush traveling down his neck and up to his ears. “But I'll still keep a couple other ideas on standby, in case it ends up not working out.”

“Fair enough,” Victor nodded. “But let's give it a few weeks, play around with it while you're getting back up to full speed and see how it goes. But I've always believed you have to do things people don't expect. How else are you going to keep surprising them?”

“That's what I'm saying!” Celestino said with a grin. “See, I knew you'd fit in well here. You just might be the kick up the ass everyone needs.”

“Well that's only fitting,” Victor grinned as he wrapped an arm around Yuri's shoulders, causing Katsuki to blush even more. “Because Yuri was most certainly the kick up mine.”

  
  


  
  


Victor arrived home to his new apartment which was across the grounds of the same complex from where his training mates lived, stepping around boxes and general disarray as he hadn't finished unpacking yet. The Victor and Friends tour had taken up four weeks from late April to late May, with a few other issues causing him to only finish moving in near the middle of June. The new skating season had begun on July 1 and even though he wasn't competing this season, he'd still been practicing every day once he'd gotten somewhat settled in.

The apartment complex grounds were peaceful as he took Makkachin on his evening walk, a routine he'd settled into to wind down from his day that was quite unlike anything he'd been able to do back in St. Petersburg. He'd been a bit surprised to find that the rink wasn't actually in the city of Detroit as he'd thought, but in a quiet suburb called Bloomington Hills that had to be the most calm place Victor had ever been in for any length of time. No one knew him here but the other residents he'd cross paths with daily were quite welcoming, with those that were inclined to saying hello with a nod or smile. In Lausanne, there was still that European feel to things, where even though it was quite different from Russia he'd still felt relatively comfortable and like he knew how the people would act. The US was about as far from where he'd come from as could be, but at the same time he looked forward to getting to know his new home for however long he'd be here.

By the time he came in from walking Makka and had his dinner it was only 7 pm; he certainly wasn't used to this in the least. In his former training life there was a good chance he would still be at the rink now, working on being the best in the world. He'd tried that a few times within the first couple of weeks, but Celestino wasn't having it. The coach had gone so far as to threaten to tell the staff not to let Victor back into the rink after hours when the Russian had insisted he just wanted to stay just little bit longer. It was taking a bit of effort to not feel like he was slacking, but as he kicked back on the couch with his feet up and Makka climbing on to snuggle with him, he decided he could get used to it.

He'd just begun to doze when his phone's email chime woke him, causing him to feel around for it with bleary eyes as he realized he hadn't checked in on it all day. When he focused on the list of messages he frowned curiously upon seeing that one was from Lilia, as he hadn't heard from her since they'd parted ways at Worlds. He opened it to find a video attached.

_**From: lbaranovskaya@rostelecom.net** _

_Hello Vitya. I hope things are going well for you. I wanted you to know about this before you found out about it in another way. Yakov has been insisting that you promised him you would choreograph a program for Yurachka for his Senior debut. I know you were working on something before you left last summer, but I wasn't certain what it was for. Yakov still has the music and the videos he took of what you had been doing and he wants me to fill the gaps in the choreography so Yurachka can use it. I told him I would only do that if you were given credit for the program, and he finally agreed. I made Yakov wait to announce it until I made sure you were still not going to use this music. But this is what I have with Yurachka so far. I would like you to watch and tell me what you think._

Victor opened the video which appeared to have been taken with Lilia's phone. He heard Yakov grumbling something next to her, then a glimpse of his former coach as she began the video by following Yuri Plisetsky's entrance onto the ice. Victor had actually been listening to the music that started just recently, as it was a companion piece to the one he'd given Yuri Katsuki earlier that day. It was in essence the same music, but with a different arrangement; this one was more ethereal, featuring a young boy soprano singing lyrics in Latin whereas the flamenco arrangement was instrumental and quite different in genre and tone. Victor had been considering both pieces as far back as a year ago but ended up with the dark, almost Gothic music he'd used as his short program for the season that had just ended. He recognized the bulk of the choreography as his own, but was quite satisfied with the fact that both pieces were polar opposites with Lilia's definite influence over what Yura was skating as far as presentation: light, balletic, angelic, to go with the hymn-like music.

He was just about to begin writing his answer when the text tone he'd assigned to Yuri broke into his thoughts, accompanied by the notification bubble on his screen. He tapped it to switch over, a smile spreading across his face.

**Yuri:** Okay so I thought about it and I am going to use “On Love: Eros”. I want to challenge myself, and I want to do it with this. It will be an honor to skate something you created. Just be ready for me to beat you with it if you do come back for Worlds. 😉

Victor grinned so widely he felt one cheek begin to twitch as he typed out his reply.

**Victor:** Perfect! I can't wait to see how you do with it! We can work on filling up the holes in it together. Get some sleep, because I'm not going to be easy on you! 😉

Victor was still grinning as he hit send on the text, then switched back to respond to Lilia's email.

_**From: thevityanikivorov@rostelecom.net** _

_Hello, I am doing quite well actually. I do remember this choreography very well. I had shown Yakov a program I was considering using for myself for the short but was undecided then, and ended up scrapping it. He asked me if I'd do something for Yura's senior debut and I did say I would help him with a program, but then things changed. I did not give him this program specifically, but you know how he doesn't always listen so he may not have remembered clearly. It's been a while. Regardless, I don't intend to use “On Love: Agape” this season. I do love what you've done to finish it off, so go ahead and use it. Just make sure your name goes on it for the choreo too, all right? Don't let Yakov talk you out of taking the credit you're due. It was good to hear from you Lilia. Do take care, and keep in touch._

He read over the email, hit 'send', and then with another grin returned to Yuri's text as Katsuki had replied again while Victor was writing his response to Lilia.

Yuri: Bring it! 😈🔥

**Victor:** I most certainly will, my dear Yuri. This season is going to be verrrrrry interesting! 😁

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Full disclosure: I know pretty much nothing about the area where the DSC is other than what Google Maps tells me. So consider all references going forward a mix of that, and fiction. 😆
> 
> Thank you for reading, and for all the comments and kudos! 💙💜


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Celestino Cialdini's four elite skaters get to know Victor better as the newest member of the DSC family settles in -- and one in particular gets close enough to pull back the curtain on the Living Legend.

It didn't take very long for Victor to settle into a comfortable routine in his new home. By mid-July he'd pretty much established that since he wasn't competing in the fall, he didn't need to be at the rink at the crack of dawn with Celestino's other students just yet. He had always preferred to do his off-ice after his on-ice work for the day, so instead to warm himself up for the morning session he would walk or jog the distance from his apartment to the rink (though the heat and humidity of Michigan summers was something that took some getting used to). He would always arrive with his body loosened up, and stretch out a bit more before lacing up and joining Yuri, Phichit, Leo and Otabek on the ice for the morning basic exercises.

The group warmup was something that was never done in his old rink; it had always been more of Yakov barking orders at everyone as to what their objectives for the day were. But Victor saw immediately how the morning exercises were important: It didn't matter who you were, you did them. Everyone began the day on the same level, the same sheet of ice. Celestino even had Yuri lead everyone in the Figure of the Day just to remind all concerned that basics were important no matter what.

The most amusing thing though was that everyone had thought Victor would be annoyed or even offended by being made to do group warm-ups and basic exercises together with the rest of the skaters, when in fact he'd loved the idea from day one. Each member of the “family” looked out for each other, helping correct each other's form or cheering their training mates on. Younger skaters from the C rink came in early on Fridays during the summer and would observe the elite skaters going through the same paces they were made to, and to Victor's delight also joined them on the ice. Once the youngsters had gotten past their starry eyes over Victor Nikiforov skating with them they would watch him with keen eyes, ask questions, and of course ask how to say things in Russian. He found himself helping the kids with the basic skill training, and at the end of the morning warmup all the skaters, from the youngest right on up to the Olympic Champion, would grab a bucket of snow and check around the rink to patch up holes and ruts before the Zamboni did a run.

It had all made Victor feel _human._ He wasn't above being scolded by Celestino for getting on the ice late, corrected by Yuri when he missed a turn in the figure Katsuki was teaching for the day, and especially reminded to get off the ice and have lunch by Muramoto or Rowan. But whenever he was corrected, reminded, scolded, it came from a place of concern, with a sense of the person delivering it doing so because they wanted him to be better, be _well._ He'd blended in so easily that when he was on the ice he actually was able to forget that he was the Living Legend and just became Victor, a really good figure skater training with some other really good figure skaters.

All of this had been running through Victor's mind as he'd eaten breakfast (another thing he'd been told to do “or else” by Celestino, and Victor had to admit he  _did_ feel a hell of a lot better in the mornings now). He'd opted to ride the bicycle he'd bought in to the rink today as it looked like rain was coming, and as such arrived a bit earlier than normal. Feeling the need to loosen up a bit more since he hadn't run or walked he headed into the gym where he saw Phichit, Yuri and Leo huddled around someone's phone, with Yuri looking more than a bit dismayed. Otabek was peering over Leo's shoulder with an amused smirk on his face that widened as he made note of Victor's arrival.

“Good morning everyone!” Victor grinned. “Am I missing some good gossip or something?”

The three men huddled around what turned out to be Phichit's phone all looked up with the most hilarious deer-in-the-headlights faces Victor had ever seen, with Yuri's face going bright red.

“Oh it's nothing!” Leo said.

“Yeah, it's just the usual off-season stuff. Coaching changes, pairs and dance teams splitting up, that kind of thing,” Phichit grinned as he put his phone away and hopped on the treadmill for his own warmup.

Yuri had gone off to the far mirrored wall to begin stretching out at the ballet barre, being unusually quiet. Victor knew something was most definitely going on when he saw Otabek snickering amusedly from where he was riding the stationary bike. If Beka was reacting, then it was something major, Victor had come to find over his time at the club thus far.

“Yuuuuurrrrriiiiiii,” Victor called across the room; he couldn't help but laugh at Yuri's startled jolt.

“Huh? What?” Yuri replied, turning around with his face that much more red.

“What's going on?” Victor asked with a grin.

“Nothing!” Yuri said. “Just... an old video of me surfaced.”

“Welllllll I want to see!” Victor grinned, walking over to Yuri. “What's it called? What are you doing in it?” He couldn't help letting his devilish side surface; there was something about teasing Yuri (gently, lest he make him anxious) that Victor found amusing. “Yuri! Did you make a dirty movie?” he asked with an exaggerated gasp and wide eyes.

Phichit had to stop the treadmill as he screeched with laughter, while Leo yelled and even Beka snortlaughed and had to stop pedaling.

“No! Of course not!” Yuri said, leaning back against the barre.

“Well why can't I see then?” Victor asked with a grin, leaning in closely to Yuri's face. _Why is he so goddamned adorable right now..._

“Here!” Phichit called, coming over with his phone to rescue his friend. “Back in the fall there was a YouTube challenge going around in the skating world, the 'Skate Like the Greatest Challenge'. Ironically, it got started because JJ posted a video of himself skating an old Kurt Browning number.” Phichit paused in his explanation to roll his eyes at that fact before continuing, which prompted Leo to pick up the story.

“Yuri did one, but then got embarrassed about it and wouldn't let Phichit post it. But it turns out that at least one other person, possibly one of the Friday kids, recorded him too because someone posted it last night,” Leo said. “Yuri got them to take it down because it was put up without permission, but it's still out there because other people grabbed it, including of course Spiral Sequence.”

“No! It's not a big deal, it wasn't that great!” Yuri said, his tone clipped and hurried as he tried to grab the phone from Phichit, then giving an exasperated sigh as Victor snatched it away then paused to read the title of the video that Spiral Sequence had reposted to their YouTube channel: **Yuri Katsuki skating Victor Nikiforov's “Stay Close to Me” – Skate Like the Greatest Challenge.**

Victor felt his heart start to race as he tapped the “play” button, the familiar strains of the song he'd had written to tell the story of loneliness and longing for someone carried from the phone's tiny speaker. Sitting down on one of the workout benches he watched as Yuri, in top form at the time as the video had been taken before his injury at the Grand Prix Final, skated a flawless stroke-for-stroke performance of the program, quads and all. Victor could see Phichit in the video recording his own version by following Yuri around on the ice with a palmcorder (Victor decided he _absolutely must have_ Phichit's version) but Yuri had slipped into character completely and was paying the other skater no heed. By the time the video finished Victor could feel his cheeks aching from the broad smile that had crossed his face.

“Yuri. _Yuuuriiiii._ That was absolutely brilliant! I don't know why you didn't post it!” Victor said. He looked up as he handed Phichit back his phone to find that Yuri had actually left the room, and he immediately felt his throat clench.

“Oh no. Did I screw up?” Victor asked as he looked around to see where Yuri might have gone.

“I... I'm not sure,” Phichit said. “I thought he'd be his usual shy self about it but...”

“He's probably in the locker room,” Leo said. “I'll go look --”

“No, no, I'll go,” Victor said, getting up and walking quickly out of the gym and across the hall to the locker room, looking around as he entered. “Yuri? Are you in here? I just want to make sure you're all right.” He continued through the room, looking down each row of lockers until he came to the final one, where he found Yuri sitting on the bench, face buried in his hands.

“Yuri?” Victor kept his tone gentle as he sat down a bit more than an arm's length from Katsuki; on a closer look he found the other man trembling and the Russian felt regret knock the wind out of him. “What is it, Yuri?”

“You... I didn't want you to see that,” he answered with a half-whisper from behind his hands.

“But why? It was fantastic,” Victor said. “I really want to see Phichit's video that he shot from close up.”

“I just... didn't want you to get the wrong impression. It... I didn't do it for the reason you probably think.”

“Oh, I didn't have any ideas in mind, I'm just surprised, but pleasantly so,” Victor replied. “But now I am wondering why you did learn the program so well?”

Yuri sighed heavily and was quiet for a bit as he seemed to weigh whether or not to explain, then began with a deep breath and long exhale. “When I was a kid, the first day I started skating at Ice Castle, I became friends with a girl name Yuko who was a couple years older than me. She and I skated together up until she decided to retire when skating and university were too much for her to handle together. Back when we both saw you on your first Junior Worlds we became fans. We started copying your moves on the ice and as we got better at our own skating, we'd figure out your programs and try to skate them because we both wanted to be as good as you someday. We'd do them after hours because there weren't a lot of people skating back then and there was more time open at the rink.

“I was talking on the phone with Yuko a bit after the season started last fall. I told her I was having some trouble getting my feet under me and that all the outside stuff going on was starting to weigh on me a bit. She suggested I should try to do that again, to figure out your programs like we did when we were kids. We both wanted to be like you, to be as good as you, and it was what inspired us when we would feel down about our skating back then. She said that maybe forgetting all about what was going on in the now, and getting back to what inspired me in the beginning, might help me get grounded again.

“So I started playing with “Stay Close to Me”, figuring out bits of it off-hours and piecing it together in between my regular practices. When the YouTube challenge came up I had Phichit record it, then thought better of posting it. Too much had been going on especially with everything that had happened at Worlds and if it had been posted I felt like it just would have made things worse. But somehow it ended up that it got out there anyway. Celestino's trying to figure out who did it because it's actually against the rules to post stuff like that from here without our permission. But yeah... I... didn't want you to think I was... I don't know...”

Yuri had been staring at his folded hands resting on his knees; as he finished speaking, the silence from the other man sitting near him had caused his own heart to jump into his throat. _Oh god, he's pissed off, I'm fucked now..._

“Yuri.”

Katsuki took a deep breath, then looked up at Victor to find him with a teary smile on his face, then a laugh at Yuri's confused blink.

“Yuri. I'm flattered,” Victor said softly as he scrubbed at his eyes with the back of a hand. “It means a lot that I inspired you that much, that even with everything that had gone on, you still turned to whatever my skating inspired within you to get through it. I don't even know if I'm making sense right now but...”

Yuri was about to respond when Victor moved over and wrapped his arms around him; after a moment to collect his head Yuri reciprocated, hugging Victor back timidly at first, then with more conviction.

“Don't worry about what anyone has to say about that video. In fact... if Phichit will give it to me, and you'll allow it... I'd like to post it on my channel. I don't put a lot on it lately but I used to vlog a fair amount... but you probably know that.”

Victor's heart warmed at Yuri's soft, shy laugh. “Yeah... I noticed you stopped after the Olympics. I... kind of felt bad about it.”

“Oh stop that. But yes... I'd like to post it, if you'll let me. I want people to see it, and know the story behind it. I think it's time to show people that this whole rivalry thing is bullshit you know? Besides... I've become just as inspired by you as you seem to have been by me.”

“What? Really?” Yuri said, his tone a bit startled as he sat up, pulling back gently from the hug.

“Yes,” Victor smiled. “Everything so far... and this... lets me know that I'm in the right place, and that I've done the right thing by coming here.” He smiled as Yuri's face flushed bright red again in response.

“Come on. I'll give you some time to think about it. Celestino's going to be looking for both of us if we hold up the morning exercises, and neither of us are warmed up very well yet.”

“O... okay. I'm just... I'm glad you're not mad or anything...”

Victor laughed as he playfully tugged Yuri up from the bench by one arm, then wrapped his own arm around Yuri's shoulders as they headed back to the gym. “Far from it. In fact, I think you skate it better than me.”

“What? No!”

“Who are you skating it for, hm?” Victor winked, his tone teasing.

“I – no one! I just was telling the story!”

Victor laughed again as Yuri hurried ahead into the gym, noting the relieved expressions on the other men's faces as they saw their moods appearing to be lighthearted. He stretched out a bit more then got on the elliptical to loosen up, opting not to tease Yuri about it any more – at least for now. But he also couldn't help wondering how Yuri would feel if he knew who Victor himself had skated the program for at Worlds, and admitted to himself that he hoped Yuri would be just as flattered as Victor himself was now...

  
  


  
  


“So he posted a vlog about it and actually _approves_ of this? Is he insane?”

Georgi, Mila and Yura were in the cafeteria at Yubileyny during one of their breaks, catching up on the reactions to the leaked video of Katsuki from the day before. Phichit Chulanont had given Victor his original video, which Victor in turn had posted with Yuri's permission to his own personal YouTube channel. That version provided higher quality and a unique perspective of the performance from having been recorded at ice level. The entire skating world was having a field day with it, but even more so with Victor's response.

“He posted a reaction video of himself watching the version Phichit recorded,” Mila said. “He said he was flattered and thrilled. He even got a little teary-eyed at the end. I don't think I've ever seen him that emotional over anything before. He said he felt Yuri skated it better than he did.”

“Bullshit!” Georgi growled. “How the hell do you skate the exact same program and do it better than the person that created it?”

“Oh so you give a shit about Victor now?” Yura snapped, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

“I just think it's insulting to do that with any skater's program,” Georgi replied. “I saw the challenge when it was going on and most of it was like, maybe 60 to 90 seconds of someone's program and it was only done mostly as a joke. This was a complete recreation. It's disrespectful.”

“Well he hadn't intended for it to be posted,” Mila reminded him. “The first one was put up without Yuri's permission. I don't think he wanted anyone to see it.”

“But he still dared to skate the program. You just don't do that,” Georgi said.

“Does it really matter?” Yura said, rolling his eyes. “What's your fucking issue with Katsuki anyway?”

“He's still mad on Victor's behalf about the Olympics,” Mila said with a shake of her head, “when Victor got over that a long time ago.”

“Obviously,” Georgi said. “But now it's more than that. He left Russia behind, and he's all up Katsuki's ass now, probably literally.”

“God you're so obnoxious,” Mila said. “So what if they're dating? Victor's allowed to have a life.”

“But you don't give up everything for that!” Georgi snapped.

“Is that you talking or your ex-girlfriend who dumped your creepy obsessive ass?” Yura said, prompting Mila to gasp, then hide her face as he tried very hard to not break into laughter. Georgi gave Yura an angry glare before he stood up and stalked out of the room.

“Yura! Oh my god you went there!” Mila laughed.

“Seriously though! Ever since Anya dumped him he's been turned up 500 percent about everything. He's more extra than Victor ever was,” Yura said with a dismissive wave of his hand. “Clearly she did the right thing because once he's stuck on something, he never lets it go. That's why both his programs are about the breakup. I'm sure that's going to win him brownie points with her.”

“I've just been tuning him out,” Mila said. “Lilia said Yakov is the one pumping him up about kicking Katsuki and Vitya's asses on the ice.”

“You think Victor is going to come back, or is he gonna retire?” Yura asked.

“He did say he's only taking the first half of the season off. I can't see him quitting yet if he went out of his way to change coaches. But I think it's a smart move because if he's changing up anything about his skating, Victor is not going to want to be falling and giving sloppy performances. He'll come back once everything is the way it should be.”

“Yeah, true,” Yura said. “I'm kinda glad I'm working more with Lilia even if she is a hardass most of the time, and with Yakov mostly just on tech. I'm not about to be the one in the middle of some bullshit Twitter rivalry. If I win I want it to be for me, myself and I.”

“Honestly that's the best way to do it,” Mila said. “I never thought the whole rivalry thing was good for anyone and it obviously got to Victor too much. If you're not doing it for yourself, then what's the point, you know? It kind of sucks that Yakov is taking credit for being your coach though when he's mostly working full-time with Georgi.”

“Eh, whatever. The old man is crotchety anyway. Lilia is more about helping you be who you want to be on the ice. And that's what I want. I don't want to be the new Victor Nikiforov. I wanna be Yuri Plisetsky, Grand Prix Final Champion, and nobody else.”

  
  


  
  


“Hey, Victor, got a minute?”

Victor was on his way out the door for the day when he heard Celestino call him as he passed by his office door. The Russian turned back and went in, sitting down in the chair in front of the desk at Celestino's gesture. “What's up?” he asked.

“So I just saw a bunch of program music announcements that the RSF put out, and I see that Yuri Plisetsky's short program was choreographed by you, which is fine. But I'm concerned that the music title seems to be pretty similar to Yuri's.”

“Oh! It was two compositions by the same person,” Victor said. “Sort of a reprise of the melody, but 'Agape' is the other side of the spectrum, it's 'unconditional love' versus Yuri's 'sexual love'. I hadn't decided which I was going to use last year and ended up scrapping both. Yakov took the videos he had of me doing it and wanted to use the program for Yura. It's totally a different piece of music in genre, kind of like when you have a theme of a movie but it's done in different ways throughout the soundtrack.” He pulled out his phone and called up the piece, playing it for Celestino who listened intently.

“Mm, okay. I just wanted to make sure there wasn't a play on this whole rivalry thing going on,” Celestino said. “We're finally past that stressor with Yuri and I didn't want him dealing with that again because of two similar pieces of music. But it is pretty different, so I'm fine with that.”

“I'd intended to mention it but I honestly forgot, that's my bad,” Victor said, his tone apologetic. “I'd gotten an email from Lilia regarding it, and apparently Yakov was going to use the program for Yura whether or not I gave him permission to. I think he mostly wanted to be able to say I choreographed it to be honest.”

“Ah, I see. Well, as long as it wasn't... you know.”

“Intentional? Oh god no, I'd never do that to Yuri. I'm... I'm sorry I made you think that.”

“I didn't _think_ it was, but I'm glad I have your word on it. Because quite honestly I'm liking what he's been doing with it. It's a total 180, and I want him to keep the piece but if it was going to cause conflict, I'd have had to weigh that against the benefit of him using it.”

“Understandable,” Victor nodded. “As far as the choreography credit, I've done things for other skaters on occasion and for more than one in a season, so I don't think that will be a big deal.”

“Unless the media decides that you doing a program for both is a problem. How does Yuri feel about this? Does he know?”

“When I saw the list posted by the RSF online I told him about it this morning. I had played 'Agape' for him so he knew the music was different. I don't think he was bothered by it.”

Just then there was the sound of footsteps out in the foyer, and Celestino stood up halfway out of his chair, peering out of the doorway. “Yuri? You out there?”

“Yeah Coach, what's up?”

“Can you come in for a sec before you leave?”

A moment later Yuri stepped into the room, doing a slight double-take when he saw Victor sitting in one of the two chairs in front of the desk as he took the other himself.

“What's going on?” Yuri asked with a frown of concern.

“Victor said you know about Yuri Plisetsky using the other variation of 'On Love',” Celestino said.

“Oh yeah, he played it for me that same day he showed us the 'Eros' version. I saw today that Plisetsky was using it and that Victor did choreo.”

“I just wanted to make sure you're okay with that,” Celestino said.

“Oh! Yeah, it's fine,” Yuri said, “It's totally different. I can see a whole 'Battle of the Yuris' thing happening if the bloggers have any say, but what can you do you know?”

“That was my other thought,” Celestino said. “I was concerned about there being a conflict of some kind, or that it was possibly not a coincidence.”

Yuri's expression darkened in response. “Coach! Victor wouldn't do that!” Celestino blinked at the anger in Yuri's tone; Victor made note of it as he'd never seen Cialdini startled by anything Yuri had said before.

“Okay, okay, as long as you two are clear on everything, I'm good,” Celestino said.

Yuri sighed heavily. “I know you're looking out for me, and that the last couple seasons have been crazy. But I really don't believe Victor would cause trouble like that.” Again, his tone was a bit angry, enough for Victor to take notice.

“All right. I am looking out for you, and for Victor too really. He's my student too now and it's my job to keep you both from getting shit just as much as it's my job to make sure there's no shit from inside.”

“Isn't that getting a bit too personal?” Victor smirked in an effort to break the bit of tension he felt in the room.

“Oh god, gross!” Yuri laughed, prompting Celestino to laugh as well as Victor grinned rakishly.

“Go on, get out of here both of you. I'll see you tomorrow,” Celestino added with a laugh, prompting the two men to take their leave. Once they were both outside to meet up with the rest of the group to head home, Victor reached over to pause Yuri with a hand on his shoulder.

“I'm going to be honest, I didn't think about how he'd feel about it,” Victor said. “I just... never had to worry about something like this before. And I hope you do believe that I wouldn't do that to you, Yuri.”

“Of course I do!” Yuri said. “If Yakov hadn't tried to steal the program from you in the first place it wouldn't be a problem at all. But you probably did the right thing by letting them use it. It's less for you to get bashed about, you know? At least Lilia stood up for you and made sure you gave permission and you'll get credit for it.”

Victor tried to cover the sigh of relief, but he could tell Yuri caught it anyway. “All right... I'm glad it's all okay,” he replied.

“Victor... you've had my back in all of this even if I didn't think so at first, before I knew better,” Yuri said. “I'm sure there will be people who think you did it on purpose, but I'll know the truth and that's all that matters.”

Victor felt a flush cross over his face as he smiled in relief. “Thank you, Yuri.”

  
  


  
  


Since Victor had been able to secure an apartment in the same complex as the rest of his training mates, the group had made a practice of at the very least walking home together at the end of the day. After stopping on the way home for dinner together they returned to the complex as evening approached, with Victor heading off to his apartment first. Phichit noticed that Yuri had paused to watch the Russian until he was inside before catching up with his friend, who had walked a bit ahead prior to noticing Yuri wasn't behind him.

“What happened in Coach's office?” Phichit asked. “Is something up with Victor?”

“Coach was maybe thinking the whole thing with the two 'On Love' pieces was something Victor did on purpose,” Yuri said. “It kind of pissed me off that he thought that.”

“Whoa, yeah, I mean, Coach C kind of worries a bit too much at times but that's... kind of serious,” Phichit said. “Was Victor pissed off?”

“No, he got it actually. But Coach pulled me in to ask if I was okay with everything, right in front of Victor. And Victor seemed fine with it but... I just hope he doesn't feel like Coach doesn't trust him. I kind of feel bad about it.”

“Aww, I think Victor definitely understands. You've been through a lot and Coach is really protective of you,” Phichit said as they entered their apartment.

“It's just... Victor's been working with me a lot on 'Eros' because he choreographed it. I kind of wonder if Coach is maybe feeling like Victor's trying to take over. I know that's stupid and it's just like me working with any choreographer...”

“But Coach usually does our choreography and then we change it up if we need to,” Phichit said. “I get where you're coming from. But you know, maybe this is a good thing. Coach has to know when to let go a bit too. I get that he wants to take care of you and all, but sometimes I think he worries too much.”

“I'm starting to feel like that a little,” Yuri said. “At the end of the day Victor isn't my coach, even if he has been helping me out. I'm not going anywhere and I'm certainly not going to drop Coach C. I don't know, maybe it's just because we're all getting used to things yet. That was just... weird, what Ciao Ciao did today.”

“I wouldn't worry about it unless it keeps happening,” Phichit said. “But I don't think it will.”

The pair split off then, both going to their respective rooms. Usually after a day full of interactions and work, Yuri would want to be alone to rest and recharge. However the odd ending to the day had left him with an uneasy feeling and he found himself leaning on the windowsill, staring out and down the pathway that led to Victor's building, four down from where Yuri and Phichit lived. As he tried to sort out his thoughts he heard his phone chime with the tone he'd set for Victor's texts, and found himself reaching for it a bit more quickly than usual.

**Victor:** Hey, I'm about to take Makka out for a walk to the dog park. I have to head your way... would you like to come along?

Yuri stared at the text for a few minutes, his heart thumping in his chest.  _ Oh god, I hope nothing's wrong. I hope he doesn't think I said anything to Coach C. If I say no he'll think that... oh fuck. _ Now too worried about Victor's intentions to decline, he tapped the reply box and answered.

**Yuri:** Sure, I'm kind of not ready to chill for the night yet myself. I'll meet you outside.

By the time Yuri came out of his room Phichit was on the couch with two of his hamsters, getting settled in to do some gaming. He looked up, taken by surprise that Yuri appeared to be leaving. “Something wrong?”

“No... Victor just texted and asked if I wanted to go with him while he takes Makka to the dog park. He's... never asked before, so I didn't want to say no.”

Phichit could tell by Yuri's tone of voice there was more to it, but he opted not to stress his friend out any more. “Oh yeah, he's been keeping to himself pretty much so for him to ask he must want company.” He smiled then. “Go, have fun. But I want a full report when you get back!”

“Yeah sure,” Yuri said, his tone distracted as he headed out the door. “See you later.”

Phichit watched the door close, then immediately picked up his phone and fired off a text.

**Phichit:** July 20 th . I WIN. You owe me dinner next time we're at a comp!

It took a few moments, but the ellipsis indicating a reply being typed finally appeared.

**Chris:** Well shit. I thought for sure it would take until August minimum, maybe longer. All right, we'll see what's up when the GP assignments come out!

  
  


  
  


When Yuri emerged from the building Victor was just coming up the pathway toward him, smiling with a wave of his free hand as Makkachin pulled on the leash. Yuri had met Makka when they'd helped Victor move into his apartment, but hadn't really spent any more time with the dog. He gave the pouf on the top of the pup's head a ruffle in greeting, receiving a “whuff” in response.

Victor could tell by Yuri's quiet demeanor as they walked to the park the next block over that something was troubling him; he'd picked up enough about Yuri's moods to know that much, at least so far. As they entered into the park grounds Victor settled on his choice of words to open the conversation, hoping not to upset Yuri much more than he already seemed to be.

“Is everything okay Yuri?”

Katsuki looked up, blinking in what appeared to be surprise. “Huh? Uh... I... well... I was kind of going to ask you that.”

“What do you mean?”

“Just... I... I don't know why Coach did that today. I mean... I don't think he was accusing you of anything but... I kind of don't like that it felt like that you know?”

_ Oh Yuri, you sweet soul.  _ “Yuri, that didn't bother me at all. I have no problem with him looking out for you. He doesn't know me that well yet, and it was something that could occur to anyone to think of. I'd rather he be straight up with me about it than throwing backhanded jabs at me during practices, although I'd be more used to that. It was more out of the ordinary for me to be confronted in such a... pleasant way, actually.”

“I just... I never thought that, okay? I don't believe you'd ever do something to mess with me.”

“But there's a little voice in your head that tells you to doubt me, right?”

Yuri stopped in his tracks at that, then sighed heavily. “It's... the goddamned anxiety. And I hate that it is. I know better of course but... yeah.”

Victor bowed his head with a sigh as they sat down on a bench, letting the retractable leash go as slack as he could so Makka could sniff about. “I'm so sorry Yuri. I never meant to make it seem that way. I should have thought more about it, but honestly when I gave you the music, I didn't know Lilia had contacted me. She'd sent an email but I never saw it until that night. I probably should have told you to maybe consider other music. That's my fault.”

“No! I really wanted to do 'Eros', I still do. I don't care what anyone thinks about it. I really love it even if it is challenging so far. I don't feel like I'm really playing the character well but I know I can get it. I'm not upset about 'Agape'. It's a totally different piece of music.”

Victor pulled out his phone then, calling up the video of Yura that Lilia had sent him. “Here. This is what the other program looks like, at least so far.” He handed the phone to Yuri, who turned up the volume to hear the music that was distorted a bit by the echo of the rink Yura was skating in. He observed Yuri's face as the other man watched the video, looking for any signs of what Yuri was thinking. When the video ended, Yuri looked up at him with a smirk.

“He's not doing 'unconditional love' very well. I don't think he knows what it means yet,” Yuri said. “See now... I could have rocked that. But you know why? I know what that piece is all about. It's my family, it's Coach C, it's Phichit. I have a lot of people who love me in different ways. That's what my long program is about. I'm already doing a program about that kind of love, and 'Agape' is what people would expect from me. The music is totally something I would use.

“But 'Eros' is harder for me... because I'm not... that's the one kind of love I haven't... had a chance with yet. So he and I, we're both sorting through what this music means to us. In that sense, we're on a level playing field. No one is going to expect this short program from me and that's what I like about it. You've always thought in terms of how to surprise people, and you saw that I could do that with 'Eros'. And I know that's the only reason you gave it to me. Besides, you told me about the other piece of music that same day, after practice. You didn't hide anything from me then, and you were up front with me when his programs were announced that he was using it.”

“But because I didn't go to Celestino right away, he felt blindsided when he saw the RSF list,” Victor said, the realization dawning then. “That's my mistake, and I'll apologize for that specifically tomorrow morning. It's just... I guess I'm used to doing whatever I want with no one to answer to because I was the top dog. Clearly I still have a lot to learn about how things work at DSC.”

“It's not a mistake that's like... the end of the world,” Yuri said. “Just tell Coach what you just told me and he'll be okay. But you just gotta remember not to let it happen again.”

“Absolutely,” Victor said, his tone emphatic. “I don't want to fuck this up. I... I just really love it here. I'm more happy than I've been in a really long time.”

Yuri smiled at that. “Really? I was kind of worried if you'd feel like you fit in. We do stuff so different than you're probably used to.”

“Yes, but... the way things are here is all about including people, making them feel worthy while making sure they're not feeling themselves _too_ much. Back home I'd have gotten yelled at for wasting time patching holes in the ice, for example. But it's... this sounds ridiculous but it's actually refreshing to do normal things. Isn't that just... crazy?”

“Yeah, it is,” Yuri agreed. “We did that even when I was back in Japan still. Coach actually got that from me. He saw me patching my own toepick divots one of the first weeks I was there and he said, 'we have maintenance for that'. I told him it helped keep my back stretched out. He was like, 'y'know, you're right!' and it kind of went from there. Everyone learns from each other here, whether or not it has to do with skating.”

Victor nodded then, smiling warmly as he watched Makka come back over to settle down at their feet. There was a pause in the conversation then as Yuri leaned down to give the dog another pat.

“Makka's like a supersized version of my toy poodle,” Yuri said. “He's rusty colored too.”

“Oh really? What's his name?”

Victor hadn't expected the benign question to cause Yuri to flush bright red and bury his face in his hands, his reply muffled through them.

“Victor.”

“What?”

“Victor!”

Victor laughed. “What??”

Yuri dropped his hands, laughing himself. “My dog's name is Victor. Vicchan is his Japanese nickname. Because I named him after you!”

Victor blinked as his mind processed the information, then suddenly burst into laughter as he reached to pull Yuri close with an arm around his shoulder. “Yuuuurrrriiiiii! Did you get the same color and kind of dog because of me too?”

“Yes!” Yuri laughed, giving a startled squeak when Victor pulled him in close. “I saw a picture with you holding him as a little puppy, and I asked my parents if I could get one. We got a toy because that's what we thought he was... and then Makka grew up.”

“I would imagine a toy would work better for your home anyway, since you said you live in a house attached to the onsen,” Victor said.

“Yeah, it did work out. We got him about a year before I moved here. I see him when I go home, but he's a lot closer to my sister Mari now, which is fine. I could have brought him here, but I'd be too worried about him when we'd go to competitions. And I don't have the budget to do boarding for him. Well, now I probably do but he's happy at home.”

“I've gotten to spend more time with Makka since I've been here than I have since I got him,” Victor said. “Even with being at the rink, since I don't stay there as long as I used to anymore, I'm home with him more now. I mostly got him for company so I'm regretting not being with him as much as I should have, but I get to make up for that now. Just... everything's better for having made this move.”

“I'm glad... I just... didn't realize how unhappy you were, underneath everything. It's kind of a surprise since it never seemed to show in any interviews or anything you ever did.”

“I got good at hiding it. But I guess... in a way too, I didn't realize it all myself. I'm starting to now. Dr. Jeff has helped a lot. Thank you for suggesting him.”

“He's great right?” Yuri nodded, with Victor nodding in return.

Another pause in the conversation followed, during which the light in the park that filtered through the trees began to fade as dusk closed in. A breeze rustled the leaves overhead, the sound mixing in with that of a few seagulls which made Victor look up to catch a glimpse of them through the spaces in the branches.

“Seagulls make me think of home, St. Petersburg,” he said. “I can see why the Russian fans are so shocked at me doing this. You get really attached to your home there, family is usually important, and Russians as a whole can be deeply patriotic. I never thought I'd leave that place, even staying in Lausanne was the longest I'd ever been away. I just didn't think I'd ever have a reason to leave.”

“I didn't think I'd ever leave Japan either,” Yuri said. “It's funny because the gulls make me think of home too. I live by the ocean, you can walk to the beach from the onsen. The weather here during the summer is a lot like home. I'll go back for good someday, when I retire. But I'm not ready for that yet.”

“What do you want to do?”

“Well first... get back to full speed. I want to win the Grand Prix Final again. But ultimately I want to get back to the Olympics. It might be my last chance to go while I'm still competitive. There's so much talent in Japan now coming up that by the one after PyeongChang in 2018, I might not even qualify. So that's what I'm looking ahead to now.”

“Very few men have ever won back to back Olympic gold,” Victor said, smiling softly. “You think you can do it?”

Yuri blushed at that. “I'd like to think so. Depends on who I'm competing against when I get there.” He responded to Victor's raised eyebrows with a wink, prompting the Russian to laugh.

“I think I've been challenged,” Victor grinned.

“Maybe,” Yuri smiled. It was only then as he went to lean forward to give Makka's head a scratch, that he realized Victor's arm was still around his shoulders.

“Oh, sorry,” Victor said, this time his face taking on the flush as he pulled it away.

The soft smile that crossed Yuri's face made Victor feel that flutter in his chest again. “It's fine.”

Another pause, where both noticed the attendants beginning to close off the gates to the park on the opposite side from where they were sitting. “Ah, I think it's time to go,” Victor said, standing up. “It's getting late anyway, and looking like rain again.”

“I hope there's a thunderstorm tonight,” Yuri said. “Best way to fall asleep. It's always been my favorite part of summer. I grew up with the typhoons and storms, being right on the coast.”

“We don't get them as much in St. Petersburg as they do here. It's nice,” Victor said as they began the short walk back to the complex, the return trip bringing them to Victor's building first. The skies had darkened considerably between the sunset and gathering clouds, and the wind had kicked up a bit more as they stopped in front of the entrance.

“Can I ask you something before you go, Yuri?” Victor questioned, looking around to find no one else about to overhear.

“Sure, what's that?”

“What... what do you want me to be, for you?”

Yuri frowned curiously at that. “What do you mean?”

“I... guess... I just... I'm not used to...” Victor sighed as he tried to settle his scrambled thoughts. “I'm kind of terrible at reading people... I never know what they expect of me.”

“We're kind of in the same boat,” Yuri said, smiling softly. “I'm usually worried about what people think of me.”

“I guess I just want to know... I know how you feel about Victor Nikiforov, Living Legend. But... what about just plain, everyday Victor? Am I a father figure?”

“No, definitely not,” Yuri replied with a shake of his head.

“A brother? A friend?”

“Friend, yes.”

Yuri saw the glitter in Victor's eye and pretty much saw the next response coming.

“Boyfriend?”

_ Just say it. He walked right into it. _ “I don't know you enough yet. Friends,” Yuri replied.

Victor blinked at that, and Yuri saw the flash of hope that lit up the Russian's face for a moment.  _ There you go, you got it. _

Victor collected himself as best he could over the roar of his heart pounding in his ears. Smiling warmly, he reached out to Yuri's hand for a shake, with the other man accepting.

“All right, friends. And... choreographer?”

“Oh, yes. Choreographer. Technical adviser. Mentor.”

“Idol? God?”

Yuri snortlaughed at that, catching the cheesy grin on Victor's face. “Now you're pushing it.”

“Agreed. I didn't think those would fly,” Victor laughed, just as a faint rumble sounded somewhere in the distance. “Ah, sounds like we might get that storm after all.”

“Yeah, I better get going. I've been doing a couple of online classes to clean up some credits and I have some homework to get to,” Yuri said.

“All right. Goodnight, Yuri. I'll see you in the morning. Maybe I'll get out early enough to walk in with you all.” Victor took the chance of leaning in, extending an arm for a hug with his free hand, the other occupied by Makka's leash. He was very pleased when Yuri accepted, returning it with a single-armed embrace of his own. It also made Victor's chest flutter again when Yuri pulled back, a flush over his cheeks.

“Goodnight, Victor. See you in the morning.” He turned to make his way down the path toward his building.

“Yuri?”

He paused, turning toward Victor again. “Yeah?”

“Thank you for coming with me.” Victor felt his own cheeks flush, another flutter as Yuri smiled back at him.

“Thank you for asking. See you tomorrow.”

Victor watched Yuri jog down the path, his form getting smaller as he made it to his building and inside just as a closer rumble of thunder sounded, accompanied by another gust that rustled the trees on the complex grounds. He finally made himself go inside, getting Makka fed and settling down on his couch, at least physically. Finally, he couldn't hold it in anymore and pulled out his phone.

** Victor:  ** Chris. I think I just went on a date.

A few moments passed, during which Victor realized what time it was in Lausanne.

** Victor:  ** Oops, you're probably sleeping. I'm sorry.

He'd just hit send when the ellipsis appeared, denoting Chris' reply.

** Chris:  ** No, I was awake. It's early in the season so I'm just doing two days a week at the rink right now. But wait. You /think/ you went on a date? You don't know for sure?

** Victor:  ** I asked Yuri to go for a walk with me. We talked a lot. We hugged. I teased him and asked if he wanted me to be his boyfriend and he said he didn't know me well enough yet, and that we're friends.

There was another pause before the ellipsis appeared again.

** Chris:  ** Victor. Wake up. The boy likes you.

** Victor:  ** Really??? You think so?

** Chris:  ** I've been telling you this for months! No, actually, like more than a year!!! That boat you're sailing down de Nile has got to go, cheri!

** Victor:  ** I'm not denying anything! I just didn't know how he felt! I still kind of don't... wait, I didn't ask if he was seeing anyone. If he had a significant other. Shit. Maybe he was just being nice and didn't want to tell me...

** Chris:  ** Victor. He said “not yet” more or less right?

** Victor:  ** Well, yes... but

** Chris:  ** Oh my god what am I going to do with you and that thick skull of yours????

  
  


  
  


“Oh my _god_ Yuri you are about as thick as a brick wall and I don't mean your ass!”

“Why would I expect him to like me? I mean _that_ way??”

“You haven't been able to tell _allllllll_ this time that he's been crushing on you?” Phichit could barely speak through his amused laughter at Yuri's bright red face and shocked tone of voice.

“He asked if I wanted him to be my boyfriend.”

Phichit's tone was almost a shout. “He  _ what???? _ What did you say????”

“Calm down!!! I told him I didn't know him well enough yet, so he was my friend.”

“Good! Good answer! I'm so proud of you!”

“Oh my god Phichit, stop!”

“Friends is good. You kind of don't know him _super_ well yet. You need more walks. Maybe you should go to dinner alone one day. _Orrrrrrr_ I can go hang with Leo and you can invite him up here and cook for him! Make him katsudon!”

“You think he'd like it?”

“Are you kidding me? Who _doesn't_ like katsudon??”

“It's too soon for that. More walks first,” Yuri said, his tone flustered now.

“Yes, walks. Walks are good. Do that for a bit yet. But yeah, let me know and I can make myself scarce that night. _Maybe_ we'll be lucky and Otabek will have a competition and I can stay with Leo overnight.”

“Overnight? Why would you want to do that? It's only dinner.”

“Just in case!”

“Just in... _PHICHIT!!!”_ Yuri picked up a throw pillow and smacked Phichit with it, causing his friend to screech with laughter.

“I've got homework to do, I'm getting away from you before you scheme up something that will get me in trouble!” Yuri said, half laughing and half serious. “Goodnight!” He detoured to the kitchen, grabbing a bag of popcorn from their stash of snacks and a bottle of water before heading to his room and closing the door.

Phichit heard his phone chime, and picked it up to find five notifications from Chris, the first four of which he'd obviously not heard with having been a bit preoccupied.

** Chris:  ** Phichit. He /thinks/ he went on a date.

** Chris:  ** THE DUMBASS IS NOT SURE IF HE WENT ON A DATE. He didn't learn a THING from me!

** Chris:  ** Why aren't you answering, it's still early there!!!

** Chris:  ** PHICHIT CHULANONT YOU BETTER ANSWER ME.

** Chris:  ** YURI TOLD HIM HE WOULDN'T BE HIS BOYFRIEND /YET/

Phichit was grinning like a fool, struggling to stifle his laughter while reading Chris' texts even as he finally typed his own reply.

** Phichit:  ** I KNOW. MY BOY DID WELL

** Chris:  ** Let's just hope either of them can figure this out because I feel like they're both clueless virgins that can't drive

Phichit had to bury his face in a pillow to muffle his screech of laughter before he replied.

** Phichit:  ** OKAY I'VE GOT NOTHING FOR THAT /END CONVO

  
  


  
  


Yuri had a feeling he wouldn't be able to concentrate on his homework, and he was right. He finally gave up after typing the same terrible opening paragraph for his essay three times, instead flopping onto his back in bed and running over what had happened that evening. Or trying to, anyway, because for some reason he couldn't get the feeling of Victor's arm around his shoulders as they'd sat together in the park, the feel of Victor's chest against Yuri's shoulder as the Russian had pulled him in close, out of his mind. The hug at the end of the night, which he'd returned with one arm because even though it had appeared the only reason Victor's was one-armed was because he'd been holding the leash in his other hand, but perhaps it was because he hadn't wanted to be too forward considering the conversation they'd just had. And right now, as the storm that had made its approach felt earlier that evening rolled in, Yuri found himself wondering if Victor was asleep, or enjoying it as they'd talked about... or maybe thinking of something... someone... else.

_Dammit, I should have used two arms for that hug._

_Wait, I did hug him, yesterday morning, with two arms._

_But I was freaking out then about the video. I don't know if that counts._

_ Does he really want to be my  **boyfriend?** _

_ Victor Nikiforov...  **likes** me? _

_Twelve year old me is losing his shit right now_

_What am I talking about? 23 year old me is losing his shit right now_

_...Next time, I'm using two arms._

And as Yuri felt himself begin to doze, the rain against his window and the thunder lulling him, one last train of thought made him smile.

_He asked me who I was skating for. But that was about Stammi Vicino._

_Wait... he asked me that about Eros too._

_Who **am** I skating for?_

As he asked himself the question, the image of someone he was beginning to realize had been more than just an idol crush all these years filled his mind, and he smiled a little more as he settled into his pillow.

_...I know who._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little late this week as things have gotten a bit busier here mixed with fibro kicking my ass. ICYMI, my posting may become inconsistent for the next month or more as I am getting ready to move. I will let everyone know if I need to hiatus for a little bit though.
> 
> The tags have been updated a little, I've been forgetting to do that. I also realized I was missing one character tag that should have been in there quite a while ago. D'oh 🤦♀️
> 
> As always thanks for reading, commenting and all the kudos! 💙💜


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The stage continues to be set for the new skating season as the seeds of drama are planted both on and off the ice.

Lilia Baranovskaya was glad she was in her own apartment right now, because she could not stop smiling. She didn't want to hide that because she had a reputation as the Iron Woman of the Bolshoi; there was no harm in keeping that visage up, if she was being honest. But rather, she preferred to conceal it due to the fuel it would add to the fires that had been stoked on Sochi Olympic ice. Lilia cared more than she'd ever let the world know about who her current reaction would hurt.

But there was one thing that had been confirmed to her: Victor Nikiforov was a cunning, sly silver fox, one that had previously mastered the art of gutting a person with the most cheerfully-placed words, ending his attacks with a dazzling smile and wink that made one thank him for cutting them into ribbons. And while this move wasn't quite that vicious, she had to admit she was enjoying the taste of schadenfreude with her morning coffee as she read the list of program music and choreographer announcements released by the Japan Skating Federation. Victor had said this season was going to be very interesting, and he was most certainly correct. She was sure the atmosphere over at Yubileyny would be just _lovely_ today, but considering who would be raging the most, she couldn't say it wasn't undeserved.

_This is what happens when you turn on the one who gave you your status, brought all the other skaters to your door. You took his gifts, used them to elevate your own reputation while you drained his soul dry. I look forward to seeing your face this morning when you realize the challenge the replacement you've moved on to will be up against._

  
  


  
  


Yuri Plisetsky really wasn't concerned with drama. Lurking on Twitter and Instagram, he saw all of the wars of words between the fandoms of different skaters. He actually wasn't too thrilled with the faction that had started up on his behalf, Yuri's Angels, as somehow even though they were for the most part around his same age, he felt they all acted like a bunch of spoiled brats. He knew he wasn't perfect even though his fans insisted he was, to the point of ridiculousness at times that made him roll his eyes and make mental notes to keep his distance. He fell on his ass every damn day, out of the public eye. Being perfect on the ice in front of the world was tough too, but he was getting closer to that. He rarely fell on jumps in actual competition, though some of his landings were rough.

No skater was perfect, and no one less so than Victor Nikiforov. Yura had to smirk as he thought of the first year of his training at Yubileyny, when he found out the unshakable skater that all of Russia was considering the literal gold standard in the sport actually fell on his ass a lot more than everyone would ever expect. He'd seen how hard Victor had worked. Even as a 14-year-old Junior, Plisetsky had been able to see how relentlessly Nikiforov was pushed, and Yura quickly felt the idolization he'd been gaining for the older man being replaced by a deep-rooted respect, though at the time he hadn't known what to call the emotion. And now that Plisetsky himself was beginning to feel the same pressure being lowered down upon him, he decided that he wouldn't let it crush him to the point where he turned away from everything he'd known, as it had done to Victor.

Yura had suspected something was off about how the short program Victor had “given” him had actually come to be his, especially with how insistent Madame Baranovskaya had been about making sure Plisetsky remembered to credit Victor for it whenever he was asked. And now that he had seen the Japanese Yuri – Katsuki, the Olympic Champion no less – was using the other variation of the same music, also choreographed by Victor, Yura's memory had been jogged. Victor had been toying with both, had pieces of both programs but hadn't finished them. Yakov had a metric fuckton of practice video of Victor (Yura should know, he'd seen enough of it especially when Yakov referenced it to show the younger skater 'how it's done'), but somehow had only a few short clips where the alternate version of 'On Love' had been used. Yura was pretty certain now that Victor might have been leaning toward using 'Agape' and thus had more of it done – for himself. As such Plisetsky was now skeptical about how much Yakov had said about the program being done for him by Victor was actually true.

Yura looked up from where he'd been getting himself stretched out at rinkside when he heard the squeak of the glass doors leading in from the lobby, the same sound that happened at 08:30 every morning. Lilia walked in swathed in her fur coat, hair in the usual harsh bun, stonefaced, the same countenance as every day before. Lowering himself down from the full-on ballet spiral position he'd been using to stretch his hips out with, he nodded in greeting to the woman that had, for all intent and purpose, been coaching him since mid-summer when it became official that Victor Nikiforov was leaving behind the Russian ice rink he had spent his entire career training at for the Detroit Skating Club.

“I have something to talk to you about,” Lilia began.

“Katsuki's short program?” Yura replied.

“Yes. I was wondering if you'd heard or seen about it.”

“My fans were in an uproar this morning on social media, I couldn't miss it,” he said with a somewhat annoyed tone.

“I want to know your feelings about it,” she continued.

_Good, because I definitely have some._ “Personally, I'm not surprised at all,” he said with a wicked smirk that he was unconsciously picking up from his mentor, even though he only saw it on her face in the moments they worked together out of sight of Yakov. “I remember him having both pieces of music on hand. And from what I've seen of Katsuki's skating, this is just as much a 180 for him as 'Agape' is for me, which is why I've been having a bitch of a time with it.”

“Language,” Lilia reminded him but with more of a gentle chide than anger. “This music was not my first choice for you, but you know that. The difficulty level was something I wasn't sure you were ready to achieve, but it's going well. However, if you do not want to invite any controversy directed at you, we still have time to change it. Yakov has already lost one of his skaters due to his obsession with the other Yuri, among other things. I do not want to see him pressure you into being his new tool for revenge.”

Yura broke into sarcastic laughter at that. “Seriously? The old man barely even knows I'm alive right now except when I have a perfect runthrough. He's not banking on me to win anything major, but that's exactly why I'm intending to. If I kick anyone's ass it's going to be on  _my_ terms. But honestly? Katsuki can bring it. I have no problem with squaring off, and let the world compare us. Because right now, we're not so different.”

“Oh? And why do you say that, Yurachka?”

Lilia found herself returning Yura's even more wicked smirk even before he spoke.

“Because we'll both be skating in Victor Nikiforov's boots, literally. We're both going to get endless comparisons to him because of him creating both programs. But aside from that, the programs are of a very high skill level, and I don't think Katsuki's program will be any less difficult than mine. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Victor makes sure we're evenly matched down to needing presentation to break the 'tie'. Do you know how _exciting_ this is going to be? If I have to be pitted head to head with someone in my first Senior season, it might as well be the Olympic Champion while sharing the Living Legend as choreographer. The rest of the story will write itself without Yakov's help. And I'm fine with that, because I want to pave my _own_ way.”

“You have grown so much, Yurachka. Nikolai raised you well. I did think you would be angry over this, but you have surprised me quite pleasantly.”

“Answer me one question though: Did Yakov commission this program?”

Lilia paused, but only for a moment. “No. Vitya was considering it for himself, but then decided not to use it. I did not know about the other program when he gave his permission for yours though. He neglected to tell me, but I can't begrudge him for that after Yakov attempted to take Vitya's work without proper credit.”

“I suspected as much. And honestly? I feel the same. If the old man was going to steal from Victor, then Victor can do as he wishes with his own work too, especially if it's to pull the rug out from under his old coach. That's why I'm fine with it. I can't say I blame him one bit for giving 'Eros' to Katsuki. Let him have this. And I'll skate 'Agape' as best as I can, and give everyone a _real_ rivalry, not one made from revenge.”

Lilia was halfway into the first word of her reply when the door to Yakov's office flew open, hitting the wall inside with enough force that she was certain something, either the door or wall, was now broken. Mila and Georgi were already on the ice and had stopped cold, eyes wide with confusion and possibly more than a bit of fear.

Yakov stalked up to Lilia and Yura, face bright red, practically breathing fire.

“Plisetsky! Get your goddamned skates on and be ready to work in five minutes. Stop fucking slacking and chatting like you don't have medals to win! You are not going to be the Grand Prix Final Champion if you sit there gossiping all morning!”

“No shit,” Yura snarked.

“Language,” Lilia reminded with a more firm tone – while inwardly trying not to roll her eyes at the predictability of her ex-husband's latest ragefit. She nodded to Yura who headed over to the benches to lace up.

“Fucking Vitya! Who does he think he is?” Yakov growled. “Is he trying to sabotage my skaters now?”

Lilia did not hide her scoff of disgust. “You're one to talk when you continued to coach Georgi Popovich after he attempted to frame the Olympic Champion, which gives the impression you condone his actions. Not to mention that you were completely fine with stealing Vitya's work to give to the skater you're pushing as the next Nikiforov, when Vitya is not even officially retired.”

Yakov stared angrily back at Lilia for several long moments; over on the ice Mila and even Georgi moved back a bit. Lilia was the only one who could say anything so strongly worded to Yakov and get away with it. Mila then turned to Georgi, whose face had darkened after letting the words the older woman said sink in a bit more, and shrugged nonchalantly.

“I mean... she does have a point,” Mila said with an exaggerated smile as she skated off to work on her Salchow. Georgi was about to fire back with something when Yakov angrily bellowing his name pulled him over to the boards, while Lilia moved over to her usual place on the other side of the rink where Yura had just finished a few last stretches after donning his skates.

“I've got him off of your back for now, and I'll keep him there if I have any say,” Lilia said. “Now let's keep working on 'Agape'. We'll give Vitya the faceoff he wants, and the vindication he deserves.”

Yura nodded with one last wicked smirk as he finished tying his long-ish hair up before stepping on the ice.

“You're damn right we will,” he replied.

  
  


  
  


“All the papers are filed. I gotta say, our odds are pretty good at a DSC sweep of the podium. We might as well call it a party at this point.”

Celestino was holding his morning meeting with the DSC skaters, keeping them up to date on the status of their requested entries to the Challenger Series Autumn Classic in Montreal, Canada. Yuri had decided to use the B-level competition, one that had no bearing on his Grand Prix Series events, as his return to competitive ice for the first time since his injury in December of 2015. Otabek had usually always done one of the European events in the series, but the appeal of a short flight to Montreal that had also prompted Phichit to sign up had enticed him to change his thinking. With the option to sign up for a maximum of three events, Leo had previously entered his own country's event in Salt Lake City, Utah, but had also jumped at the chance to do the Canadian installment as well to represent Team DSC.

“Too bad you're not competing Victor, you could have shook everyone up by entering too,” Phichit grinned.

“I mean, I did say I wasn't competing in the _Grand Prix Series,”_ Victor smirked. “But no, I don't even have any programs ready, and if I do go back for Nationals I'll probably just stick with the two programs from last season because it will be more like a warmup for me anyway.”

“We're all going to be scrambling,” Rowan said. “Three coaches to four skaters.”

“Even if Phichit and Yuri are in the same group, I can cover for either. It will work out,” Muramoto said.

“Who is Russia sending, anyone?” Victor asked, peering over at the confirmed entries thus far on Celestino's iPad.

“It looks like... well. This is gonna be interesting,” Celestino blinked. “This has been updated since earlier this morning. It looks like we're going to have Popovich there, and two new first-year Seniors I don't recognize. Even if you wanted in you'd be out of luck, the spots got filled fast.”

Victor frowned at that. “Georgi has never wanted to do Challenger Series events, and especially not if they were outside of Europe.” His expression darkened a bit then, but he chose not to expound further as the discussion over the competition ended, shifting then to the morning on-ice exercise regimen for the day. Once the session was over and everyone took leave of the ice for the Zamboni's rounds, Yuri couldn't help but notice Victor had seemed unusually quiet over the past hour. His concern was piqued more once they'd all changed out of their skates and the others had headed to the cafe for their morning coffee while the Russian lagged behind, texting on his phone.

“Victor? You coming to the cafe?” Yuri asked as the other man sat down on the bench again when he received a reply to a text.

“Ah? Oh... yes, I'll be there in a little bit. Just attending to some business.”

Yuri was about to remark about how unusual that was for Victor, who had a self-imposed rule of not even taking his phone out while he was in the rink room itself. He ultimately decided against it lest it seem he was attempting to pry. “All right. Don't wait too long though, the B group skaters have a shorter session time now because most of them are back in school. We don't have as much time for break.”

“All right. I'll be right there,” Victor said with a smile and a nod that was a bit more emphatic than it really needed to be, at which Yuri took his cue to leave.

Victor watched after Yuri, making sure he'd gone out the doors to the lobby that led to the cafe before rising, replying to one last text as he walked over to Celestino's office door to find the coach on the phone. Celestino noticed Victor peering around the doorframe and raised a finger to denote “just a moment” as he finished the call.

“Come in Victor. Sorry about that, this is the time of year it gets a little crazy. We have Media Day coming up and it's always a zoo.”

“Media Day?” Victor questioned, his brow drawing into a curious frown.

“Yeah. It's more or less for the Japanese media. We get like 20 photographers and reps from all the major Japanese television stations that carry the skating there, including their skating media guru Hisashi Mooroka, who is one of Yuri's biggest cheerleaders. They film all Yuri's practice sessions for the day, and he and I do interviews. So I'm getting calls left and right setting everything up. They're especially crazy this year because Yuri's been out of the spotlight and everyone wants to know how he's doing.”

“Well that sounds interesting,” Victor said. “How does he usually handle it?”

“Better than he used to. They started pegging him for it in the fall of 2013, because he was a contender for the Olympic team. It was during that day that Morooka saw Yuri's programs for the season and predicted he'd win the Olympics with them. He's reminded everyone since that he called it. So now everyone looks forward to hearing his take, though obviously he was off the mark last year when he said Yuri would sweep everything right up to and including Worlds.”

“The media loves to dig their own holes with hype like that. Russia loves that sort of thing too,” Victor said. “Do they only film him, or are the other skaters there too? That has to be nervewracking for him if they single him out.”

“No, we just run through our regular day and try to ignore all the camera clicks and bigass zoom lenses. Anyone that wants to bow out and not be filmed can do so though.”

Victor raised a hand to cup his chin in thought for a few moments. “Well, this kind of meshes with the reason I came in here, actually,” he said. “I've been thinking about the Autumn Classic, and I was wondering if you'd like me to come along since I've been helping Yuri with the short program. Considering who else is going to be there now... I kind of would prefer if I was.”

“Getting a bit protective hm?” Celestino said with a smirk. “I can understand why. To be honest I don't trust Popovich as far as I can throw him, and let's just say I definitely don't have the arms of a pair skater. As far as coaching, I'd have it covered because I'm used to running around like a lunatic changing team jackets. But if Yuri's fine with it sure, you can tag along.”

“All right, I'll talk with him then. My other thought now on learning about Media Day is that I'd like to be on the ice with him for his short program practice. It's already out there that I've choreographed the program, and with the Autumn Classic development, I think I want the statement to be made that he and I are on the same team, literally. It might diffuse the situation at the competition.”

“I see what you're getting at,” Celestino said. “If you want to stick your neck out that way, I'll leave that decision up to you. There's no denying you're a big part of both of Yuri's programs this year since you've really helped with the free as well. You might want to be prepared to fuel speculation that you're retiring to coach rather than just moving to a new coach for yourself though.”

“All the better,” Victor replied. “The more they worry about me, the less they'll worry about Yuri. He'll have enough to deal with, especially since between you, me and the wall, I've found out from a reliable source that Georgi was a last minute entry, possibly not by his own choice.”

Celestino's face was the one to darken a bit this time. “Feltsman still playing games?”

“It seems so. I'm sure he was incensed about the short programs, but considering he claimed 'Agape' without my consent he doesn't have a right to be. I'm tired of it and if I can shield Yuri from any more of his crap by making my presence known, I'm going to do that.”

“All right. I'll add you to the accreditation list as a choreographer and team member for Yuri then. I have to file that as soon as they officially accept the entries.”

“Thank you,” Victor nodded.

“I should be thanking you,” Celestino replied. “It's a pretty big chance to put yourself out there like this after the shitstorm that happened when you came here. You're pretty damn brave, I'll give you that.”

Victor flashed his usual grin, punctuated with a shrug. “They mess with my friends, they mess with me. And some people just seem to need to be reminded that they should know better than to do it.”

  
  


  
  


The rest of the day had proven to be uneventful at the rink, with everyone focusing on their programs for the coming season now that the first competition entries had been logged. The next big announcement would be coming soon with the Grand Prix Series assignments, so the relaxed feel of the off-season had been replaced with a definite atmosphere of seriousness.

Victor had enjoyed the feel of the summer season at DSC, as at Yubileyny there hadn't really been one. A skater could take a vacation if they wanted, or choose to stay away from the rink for a few weeks, but if you walked in the door of the St. Petersburg rink you were expected to come ready to work, no matter what time of the year it was. At DSC there were still off-season practices, but for the most part until program music was chosen and choreography was completed, if one chose to skate they were allowed to relax and not go as hard as usual if they chose to. It had also been a bit more difficult to practice quite as much, as during the summer there were more recreational skaters that came to escape the heat. Students on summer break also took advantage of the freedom from school to get in extra practice time, with the young competitors working hard to get their new programs competition-ready before school started back up in September and their time for sessions became more limited.

Victor made his way out of the locker room to find that his training mates had already left from the foyer that accessed the three rinks; a glance at the clock on the wall made him realize that in the process of answering a few emails that he'd received on his phone during practice he'd run behind and the others had headed home without him. Both Yuri and Phichit were doing online classes to keep up with university, so they likely had wanted to get home quickly.

His walk through the foyer and down one of the halls that led to the main lobby took him past the dance room. Usually by this time of day the door was locked, with the instructor doing their sessions with the skaters early in the day. Victor paused though as he realized he heard music coming from inside, then stopped completely when he was able to hear enough to recognize it. After a few moments where he debated his next move he laid a hand on the door handle, then quietly opened it to step inside. The placement of the entrance was just off to the left enough that it did not reflect in the mirrors that lined the wall opposite the door, and as such did not distract the lone figure dancing in the room.

Victor watched quietly as Yuri ran through the choreography for “Eros” on the floor, treating it more as a dance where he focused on his body's movements. Katsuki moved with his eyes closed, feeling the music more deeply and fully without the distraction of skating. The Russian was surprised at how much more open and free the Japanese man seemed when he believed himself to be alone, the sensuality he struggled to find on the ice coming through in the choreography much more strongly in the dimly-lit room. As the music ended with Yuri in his finishing pose – arms wrapped around himself, one leg cocked on his toe to bend at the knee and leave the hip suggestively hitched up – Victor restrained himself from applauding, not wanting to startle Yuri out of his skin. After a few moments where Katsuki stayed in the ending pose with his eyes still closed he finally came back to his senses, turning toward the Bluetooth sound system in the room.

“You're here late,” Victor said softly, having to hold in a soft laugh as Yuri was still startled regardless of the other man's attempt not to frighten him.

“Victor! I thought you left already,” Yuri said as he sat down on a bench, pausing to chug from his bottle of water.

“I thought you had left too. I must have taken too long in the locker room, everyone else was gone when I came out,” he replied, sitting down next to Yuri. “With the rain I'm willing to bet they took the bus and had to hurry out so they didn't miss it. But now I'm wondering why you're still here.”

Yuri sighed, the tone of it frustrated. “I just... I feel like I'm not putting across the right feel for “Eros”. I thought maybe working on the floor where I could concentrate on my body movements would help. Now that I've got the Autumn Classic scheduled I'm starting to worry it might not be ready in time. The first impression of the year is so important especially after I've been gone so long, and I need to come back strong. And I need to look on point for Media Day too.”

“Ah yes, Celestino told me about that,” Victor nodded. “It sounds like it's a lot of pressure to be more or less under a microscope all day.”

“Yeah it is. But all the media gets their shot at one time so they can have footage they more or less use as stock that they can dip into during the season. Celestino doesn't like to have media coming in and out all the time, so he sets one day where everyone gets what they need. I think this year we're going to have some people coming in from the US as well because of Leo. But mostly I'm just worried about the Classic. I've got four weeks before it happens and I'm just not feeling like I'm on point with the short program yet.”

“Well the bit of dancing I saw you doing there looked pretty good to me,” Victor said. “You just need to dip back into your experiences for the right emotions.”

“That's just... I... don't really know what I need to reach for.”

Victor blinked, then remembered something Yuri had said previously: _I haven't had that kind of love yet._

“Tell you what. Let me loosen up a bit and I'll dance it through with you. We'll see what we can come up with. In the meantime though, try to think about something that...” Victor felt his cheeks flushing a bit as he tried to put things into words. “Think about something that makes you feel sexy. Something you enjoy so much that it makes you feel alive. Then put that energy into what you do with your body.” _Whatever you were thinking about when I walked in would work too..._

Yuri felt his own face flush as Victor spoke. “All right... I'll... run through it again while you're warming up.” He got up a bit more quickly than he really needed to, heading to the center of the dance floor when Victor went over to the sound system to start the music for him.

As Victor suspected, when Yuri was being watched he seemed to have a harder time letting himself get into the provocative mode he needed for the program. The fluid, sensual movements he'd been doing when he was unaware of being watched were toned way down as he moved through the choreography, marking out the spots were the jumps and spins were. He finished with an exasperated sigh.

“I just... I feel like... I don't know how to say it,” Yuri said. “Like that part of me is...”

“Private? Or reserved for something or someone in particular?” Victor said.

“Yeah... maybe I've bitten off more than I can chew. Maybe I'm too shy for this kind of program, I don't know.”

“Maybe you just need something to focus on that brings that out into the open,” Victor said, hitting the button on the sound system again then walking up behind Yuri as the “Eros” music began to play. The Russian wrapped his arms around Yuri from behind, grinning as he heard the other man gasp. Victor leaned in, face pressing cheek to cheek, muscular chest against Yuri's equally muscular back. He particularly enjoyed how Yuri's smaller frame fit against his own – perhaps a bit _too_ much, but he decided to run with it.

“Seduce me with all that you have,” Victor purred against Yuri's ear. “If you need to think of something, think of me. If you can enthrall me, you can enthrall the room too. I'll be with you at the competition... just think of it as our secret. In front of the world, you are only performing for me, and they'll wonder who the special one is that you are dancing for.”

The music had played halfway through as Victor had been speaking, his arms tightening around Yuri just a bit more, his body pressing closer. Yuri closed his eyes as Victor began to move, his hands sliding down Yuri's arms to extend them as they began to dance.

“Just think about who you are dancing for,” Victor murmured as the music began again, having been set to repeat.

Yuri's mind began to wander at the feel of their bodies in motion... of _Victor's_ body against his. _I know who_ , he remembered, feeling his courage build. _It's time to show you._

Victor couldn't help but smile as Yuri's body relaxed into their movements. They weren't even doing the choreography for the program at this point, rather just feeling out the music to see where it would take them. He guided Yuri, still dancing behind him but keeping contact with hands brushing over the other man's arms and torso almost as if he were molding and shaping the Japanese skater's lines and extensions. He was about to press in closer when suddenly Yuri turned around, catching Victor's waist with one hand and reaching for one hand with his own. They began to move together, dancing not the choreography they'd begun with but whatever felt right.

In quiet moments, alone in his room as a young adult, Yuri had often watched videos and gazed at photos of Victor with a feeling through his body he couldn't pin down. He'd been constantly teased about his “obsession” with the Russian skater over the years, with some who were particularly enamored of making him feel especially self-conscious asking if Victor was his “boyfriend”. As he'd grown older Yuri had realized what those feelings had been, but had never in his wildest dreams ever thought he'd have the chance to act on them. But as he danced now, pressed chest to chest with the man who had at one time only been posters on a wall or an image on a screen, Yuri realized it was time to let those feelings not only come to the surface, but break through. Brown eyes locked with blue as Yuri allowed as much chemistry to flow from him as into him, the balance switching to where Katsuki was now leading Nikiforov with the Russian's wickedly inviting grin acknowledging his acceptance of the change in dominance of the dance.

Yuri broke away suddenly, spinning to a stop and striking a pose, arms over his head as he flashed Victor a fiery glare. Victor advanced, returning it with blue eyes on fire as well. He followed as Katsuki stepped backward slowly, the Japanese man seeming a bit startled as he found his back against the wall, appearing to have misjudged his distance. Victor flattened one palm against the painted concrete bricks just to the side of Yuri's head, body moving in closer to brush his chest over Yuri's as he leaned in a bit...

He was taken aback as Yuri suddenly moved forward, arms wrapping around Victor's body as he dipped him backwards and causing the Russian's arm to wrap around Yuri's shoulders to keep from falling. Katsuki's face hovered mere inches from Nikiforov's, one hand coming up to caress the Russian's cheek before he stepped back, pulling the other man upright. Victor chased after him again, pinning Yuri to the wall once more with one hand against the brick, the other coming up to cradle his face as he leaned in...

This time both men startled like scared rabbits when someone rapped loudly on the door from outside the room, with Victor jumping back a few paces then turning quickly to make as if he'd meant to hurry over to the sound system to turn it off rather than recoiling from Yuri. The fear of the consequences of being caught in any compromising situation was ingrained in Victor from what now felt like the distant past in his mind and he swallowed down a bit of repressed panic that surfaced momentarily, jabbing at the button on the sound system with a deep breath and sharp exhale.

“Hey how long are you going to be? We have a yoga class coming in for 6 pm,” the woman's voice on the other side of the door barked roughly. Both men looked up at the clock in the room to find it was already nearing 5:30.

“Ah... we're done, just finishing now,” Yuri called. “Sorry, we're usually not here this late, didn't realize the room was used after hours.”

“All right, as long as you're done. The instructor needs to get the room ready.” Footsteps trailed away, the sound of the woman addressing someone farther down the hallway fading, her tone annoyed.

“Guess we stepped on some toes,” Victor said, still trying to clear his head. “I guess we'd better get going...”

“Yeah... I never paid attention to the evening schedules here. I don't even know who that was,” Yuri said. He took his phone from Victor upon his having retrieved it from the sound system dock, hoping the other man didn't notice his hand trembling slightly.

“But... I think you've gotten what I was talking about now, right?” Victor asked.

“Yeah! Yeah... I... think I'm good...” Yuri packed his things quickly after changing out of his dance shoes. “I should get home...”

“We can go together... I've heard it's not a good idea to walk alone here?” Victor said, throwing out a random line he'd read about some places in the US that likely didn't apply to the rather nice area they were in.

“Oh... yeah... we try not to walk alone anyway. It's not as safe here as it is in Japan... it took me a while to get used to,” Yuri said, his tone still distracted as Victor walked back over.

“We can grab something for dinner along the way maybe?” Victor asked.

“Uh... sure...”

“Are you all right Yuri?” _Oh god, did I go too far..._

Victor's thoughts were cut off as Yuri suddenly reached up, cradling Victor's face as he trapped the Russian's mouth in a kiss. Nikiforov's arms wrapped around Katsuki's slight frame, pressing him tightly to his chest as he returned it, his heart accelerating to pounding so hard he wondered if Yuri could feel it.

The sound of a group of women chattering amongst themselves as they drew near in the hallway brought Yuri back to his senses and he let go of Victor's face, breaking the kiss with Victor sighing heavily at the loss of contact.

“I'm ready to leave here... but I don't want to go home yet...” Yuri murmured, face flushed, eyes a bit glassy, his appearance and the tone of his words prompting the other man to smile.

“Then let's leave together... and I'll take you home,” Victor purred, reaching for Yuri's hand as he opened the door. “Let's catch the bus home... walking will take too long.” He didn't suppress the grin when Yuri gripped his hand in return as they hurried out of the dance studio past the group of yoga participants that had gathered to wait for them to take their leave. They emerged at the main lobby to find some parents and kids coming in for evening hockey practice and wove their way through to the doors...

“Hey guys! What are you doing here so late?”

Both men froze, with Victor quickly releasing Yuri's hand, the latter pulling it back as they both heard the sound of their coach's voice.

“Oh ah... I was working on getting the choreography a little more cohesive,” Yuri said as Celestino came over to them. “I was in the dance room and Victor... stayed to help.”

“Yes, we were talking about the character that Yuri wanted to portray,” Victor said, absently looking over to see the bus they'd been rushing to catch pass by the empty stop out front. “You're here rather late yourself.”

“I had a bunch of stuff I needed to go over for the Intermediate and Junior seminar I'm doing this weekend,” Celestino said. “I was working with the kids' coaches to see what we needed. Say, you guys need a ride?”

“Uh... sure!” Yuri said, nodding to Victor who seemed a bit uncertain. “We were gonna grab a bus but I think we might have just missed it.”

“Okay, c'mon. And since both of you put in extra time off-ice today, why don't you come in at noon tomorrow,” Celestino said as they left the building, bearing right as they headed to the staff parking lot. “We've still got four weeks, a couple hours sleeping in won't hurt either of you.”

Yuri tried really hard to burst out laughing at Victor's cheesy grin and emphatic nod as they climbed into the back seat of the car. “Okay sure, sounds good.”

As Celestino started the car and pulled out to head toward their apartment complex Yuri and Victor sat on opposite sides of the back seat, both attempting to calm down but failing miserably. Leaving as late as they were caused them to be caught in the remnants of rush hour traffic, and what should have been a five to ten-minute ride became more like twenty as the cars continued to crawl; meanwhile the heavens opened up again for yet another downpour. Cialdini seemed oblivious though as he sang along to one of the songs on the classic rock station he listened to, sometimes taking a few extra seconds to step on the gas as the cars in front of him began to move.

Victor was certain that by the time they got to the apartment complex the moment would be totally lost and Yuri would return to his usual shy self, acting for all the world that the sparks that had flown to the point of ignition just thirty minutes earlier had never happened. That's how it was with Yuri; he would have moments where he became more inhibited, letting his shyness lapse enough to be hilarious on the ice during a particularly fun day at the rink, then shutting down and appearing that much more self-conscious as the day ended and the group walked home together. Victor prepared himself for the inevitable as Celestino finally turned into the U-drive of the complex, stopping at Yuri's building first.

“Here you go buddy. Get some dinner and some rest and I'll see you tomorrow,” Celestino said.

Victor saw Yuri hesitate for a moment, swallowing nervously before gathering up his bag. “Okay... see you in the morning. Goodnight Victor.”

Victor was about to resign himself to things turning out as he'd expected, but then noticed Yuri hesitate again just long enough to get his attention, at which he winked.

“Goodnight, Yuri,” Victor replied then, smiling warmly. “See you in the morning, we'll walk in together since we're going in later.”

“Sounds good,” Yuri said. “Thanks for the lift Coach, have a good night.” He stepped back from the car and gave one more wave, closing the back door and heading into the building.

“You're the last one on the other end, right?” Celestino asked as he began to head in that direction. “I don't think I've dropped you off before.”

“Ah? Oh yes, the last building,” Victor confirmed, his mind racing. “I'm sure Makkachin will be clamoring to go out, I've been gone much longer than usual.”

“Oh boy, hope you don't have any messes to clean up! Might want to get some puppy pads,” Celestino laughed as he stopped the car in front of Victor's building. “Well you get some rest too. And I'll kick you out if I see you coming in early.”

“Oh I'm sure I'll still be awake early, but I don't want to risk any injuries!” Victor grinned as he got out of the car. “Thank you for the ride, have a good night now!”

Victor headed into the building as Celestino pulled away, almost breaking into a run as he climbed the stairs. He was just on his way back down to take Makka out when his phone chimed with Yuri's text tone.

**Yuri:** I'm outside.

**Victor:** Come to the back entrance, I'm taking Makka out.

Victor noted when the “Sent” turned to “Read” and continued on his way outside, letting Makka sniff around in the designated area for dog walking to find a place to do his business. He kept an eye on the pathway that led to the front of the building and finally Yuri emerged, jogging over with a barely contained grin.

“Good lord,” Victor laughed as they headed back in. “He was the last person either of us needed to see, even if it was nice to have a ride home!”

“Yeah that was... crazy awkward,” Yuri said, his tone quiet as they climbed the stairs to Victor's third floor apartment. As they entered Victor began to sense that his suspicions of how the night was going to go might be coming true. There had been just enough time for Yuri to think too much and back down, but Victor was determined to be fine with whatever came to pass.

“Do you want a drink or something? Ah, we didn't get a chance to grab anything for dinner either,” Victor said, feeling the uncertainty welling up in his own mind. Yuri in turn had been petting Makka and was now appearing to be having trouble looking Victor in the eye. _This would have happened either way, we still had to get home somehow._

“Yuri.”

Yuri looked up, brown eyes seeming a bit worried through the blue-rimmed glasses.

“I'm... not expecting anything,” Victor said carefully; Yuri's relieved exhale confirmed the Russian's own apprehension over the situation.

“I don't...” Yuri stopped himself, drawing in another deep breath and exhaling. “No. I do know what came over me. I'm not even going to lie.”

“I know. I can say the same,” Victor said with a nod.

“I'm... not sure why I came here though... what I thought would happen...”

“What do you want to happen?”

Victor was startled when Yuri walked forward and threw his arms around him; the Russian responded in kind, pulling Yuri close and smiling warmly as Katsuki looked up at him, the look in his eyes one of deep conflict that prompted Victor to dip his head down and place a kiss on the other man's forehead.

“Just because we felt something then doesn't mean we have to act on it,” Victor said, his tone gentle. “Besides... I think we might have cooled down a bit too much for that.”

Yuri pulled his lower lip in, nibbling on it a bit.

“Hey. Don't,” Victor said. “Really, it's all right. We don't have to rush anything. I said I didn't expect anything and I mean it.”

Yuri nodded quietly in response, prompting Victor to bring one hand up to cradle Katsuki's cheek. “Although... I wouldn't mind another kiss.”

Victor had to smile at the blush that played over Yuri's face then as he nodded in agreement, still nibbling on his lip which made Victor's mindset switch from what it had been before to being overcome with just how damn  _ adorable  _ Yuri was. Reaching down he took Yuri's hand and led him to the living room, where he sat down and tugged on Yuri's hand to urge him to follow. They wrapped their arms around each other again and Victor was about to lean in when Yuri drew back slightly with a soft, bashful laugh.

“Glasses,” Yuri said, “forgot to take them off.”

“Let me,” Victor smiled, reaching up to gently tug them off of Yuri's face and setting them on the coffee table before wrapping his arm back around him again. “Take two?”

“Yeah,” Yuri said, cheeks flushing even more as Victor leaned in, prompting Yuri to tip his face upward.

It wasn't the same type of kiss as earlier, to be certain, but Victor still saw sparks. He drew in a breath through his nose as Yuri's arms tightened around him, both of them settling into it more. After a few moments Yuri leaned sideways, pulling Victor with him as they came to rest against the back of the couch, one hand moving up to cradle Victor's cheek. Both drew back slightly for air at the same time and Victor found Yuri initiating round two with a bit more confidence, with Katsuki pressing his chest against Victor's as he had in the dance room earlier. A purr escaped from Victor's throat as Yuri's hand slid down from Victor's cheek to rest on his shoulder, gripping slightly as the kiss continued. The pair continued to trade off, returning each other's kisses with breaks in between where their lips hovered, barely brushing as they gazed into each other's eyes to offer the wordless question of “more?” and the silent answer of “yes”.

Yuri wasn't sure how long the kisses continued, but he was definitely sure he didn't care how long they lasted. Each new round between the soft, playful breaks for air had become a bit more intense, their bodies pressing closer together (if that was even possible). He was starting to feel himself getting warmer, the urge to let his hands wander the more he thought about how  _ good _ Victor's muscular form felt in his arms, against his own body even through their clothes. He let out a purr of his own whenever Victor's arms tightened around him, enjoying the feeling of how they fit together, how the other man's embrace made him feel safe... made him feel...

_Don't get ahead of yourself. You don't even know what he's feeling yet._

Yuri knew if he didn't stop himself, he would fall harder than he ever had on any quad. But how much of what he was feeling was left over from that strange, unidentifiable pang in his heart when he'd gazed at pictures of Victor as a teen? And how much of it was what he was feeling now, at this moment, for the man in his arms that he'd gotten to know? The real, living, breathing Victor Nikiforov that was so different than even he'd believed from everything he'd read, seen, heard? _This isn't the time to be a fanboy. You have your literal dream made flesh in front of you... You can't afford to fuck this up..._

And yet, as he drew back for a deeper breath to collect his head, he gazed into those ridiculously blue eyes, the gentle, angelic smile, the shimmery silver hair that was softer to the touch than he'd ever imagined, and realized all at once that he probably knew a lot more about Victor, and even himself and his own feelings, than he'd believed. They could have acted on the impulses that had begun in the dance room; Victor could easily have wanted to finish what they'd started, what  _ Yuri _ had started with the kiss. And yet here he was, in Victor's arms, with the Russian staring at him with the sweetest, most love-drunk smile, with so much adoration in his eyes Yuri might as well have hung the moon and stars for him.

“Are you happy, Yuri?” Victor asked, his tone soft, comforting, even as there was a tiny glint in his eyes that said _please say yes. Please..._

_ Oh my god. He... he wants  _ _**me.** _ _ Enough that he was afraid to even ask... _

And in that moment, Yuri had never been more truthful, more sure of an answer in his whole life. Sure enough that it made him smile warmly, his embrace tightening around Victor, his heart fluttering as the Russian smiled in response.

“Yes, Victor. I'm very happy.”

  
  


  
  


There was nothing more disorienting than being rudely awakened by the ringtone assigned to one's best friend.

Except, perhaps, being rudely awakened by one's best friend's ringtone while realizing you'd slept curled up in the arms of your childhood idol.

“Oh _shit!”_ Yuri gasped, blinking awake and fumbling for his phone on the coffee table as Victor began to wake.

“What time is it?” Victor groaned as he reached for his own phone. “Six? We don't have to be in till noon...”

Yuri was about to call Phichit back as he'd missed the call when the phone began to ring again. “Oh god. He's probably terrified because I didn't come home.”

Victor's eyes snapped open then. “Oh shit! We fell asleep...” He stopped speaking as Yuri waved him off, hitting the answer button with his free thumb.

“YURI. YURI OH MY GOD WHERE ARE YOU?” Phichit's near-hysterical voice screeched into the phone.

“Phichit!!! Calm down, I'm fine!!” Yuri half-yelled, at which Phichit stopped screaming, though Yuri could tell by the gasps on the other line that Phichit was probably hyperventilating if not sobbing. “I'm with Victor, we're in his apartment. We started watching a movie and fell asleep. You weren't home when I dropped off my stuff and I forgot to call you. I'm so sorry.”

“W-when I got in last night I saw your door closed like usual and just figured you were in bed then this morning you didn't come out for breakfast and I checked and you weren't there and I got scared and I felt bad because I didn't check last night and I thought something happened to you because I knew you stayed late last night and I got scared you maybe got robbed or something walking home and I should have waited and --”

“PHICHIT. CALM. DOWN.”

“-- I should have called you!!!! I should have made sure you were okay!!!!”

“It's okay, I'm fine! I'm across the courtyard from you!”

“Wait what?”

Victor tried very hard not to laugh as both he and Yuri realized Phichit had not been listening at all until that moment; Victor had been able to hear Phichit even though Yuri had not put him on speaker.

“I'm fine. I'm in Victor's apartment. We ordered some food then fell asleep watching a movie and I forgot to call you. I'm really sorry.”

There was silence on the other end for a few moments, during which both Victor and Yuri became concerned. Victor sat up as Yuri moved off of him to do the same.

“Phichit? Are you okay?”

“YOU SPENT THE NIGHT WITH VICTOR????” The volume was even louder, still not on speaker, the screech an even higher note to the point where Yuri cringed. He felt his face go bright red as Victor burst into hysterical laughter, flopping back down on the couch.

“No! I mean... I stayed over here because I fell asleep! So... yes?? But... no, not _that_ way? I don't know all I know is I'm fine and Coach said because we stayed late yesterday we don't have to come in till 12:00 today and --”

“YOU STAYED LATE AT THE RINK WITH VICTOR?”

By this time, Victor was laughing so hard he was in tears.

“Phichit! Oh my god just go to the rink! I'll see you later! And don't you _dare_ say a _WORD_ to anyone there yet okay? _OKAY?”_

Another long silence, then finally both men heard Phichit exhale sharply as if he hadn't been breathing for the last several minutes. “Okay. Okay. I won't say anything, I promise.”

“I swear to god if I find out you did...”

“I promise I won't!!”

“Okay. We'll be in at 12. Don't be late or Muramoto-sensei will be angry.”

“Okay. See you then.”

Victor looked over to the television, where the DVD logo screen saver bumped around quietly; reaching for the remote he turned it off. “I don't even remember falling asleep,” he said. “We probably should have stayed sitting up. I think dinner knocked us out because I was pretty awake before then.”

Yuri moved over to lie down again, snuggling into the space between Victor and the back of the couch, which still had him lying mostly against the Russian's body. He rested his head on Victor's chest with a happy sigh. “I was going to say cuddling was a bad idea but... it wasn't,” he said with a smile, which turned into a soft giggle as Victor ruffled his hair playfully.

“No, it was definitely not a bad idea,” Victor said, reaching for his phone. “And going back to sleep for a bit isn't a bad idea either. I'll set an alarm.” He had just unlocked his phone and was about to do just that when a text notification popped up on his screen.

**Chris:** VICTOR NIKIFOROV DID YOU FINALLY GET LAID BY YOUR PRETTY JAPANESE BOY?

Yuri raised his head with a puzzled expression at Victor's sudden burst of laughter. “What? What happened now?”

“I'm not going to say Phichit didn't keep his promise... because you only said not say a word to anyone at the rink. But it's Chris, asking about what happened last night.”

“Oh my goooooddddd what did he tell Chris? I'm going to kill him!!!”

“Knowing Chris, he's making assumptions, not unlike Phichit,” Victor said, rubbing Yuri's back reassuringly with his free hand. “I'll set him straight. But, just to punish him for being a nosy bitch...” He opened the text long enough for it to show up as “Read” on Chris' end, then closed out of it and continued to set the alarm he'd originally intended to before placing his phone back down on the coffee table.

“I had a feeling those two have been conspiring to get us together,” Yuri said, his tone already sleepy again.

“Eh. They mean well,” Victor said, wrapping his arms around Yuri to hug him with a yawn. “Anyway... let's sleep for a bit more. Makka hasn't moved in his bed so he probably doesn't need to go out right now, which is fine with me.” He tipped his head up to look at Yuri, only to find him already fast asleep. He laid his head down with a smile, giving Yuri one more squeeze before dozing off himself.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope the bit of extra wait for this chapter is made up for in content. 😉 From here on out for the next month or more I make no promises on the consistency of updates, as things are getting into crunch time here. But just a reminder that if I need to hiatus, I will definitely let everyone know. Thanks as always for reading, commenting, and kudo-ing. 💙💜


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Yuri and Victor ponder how the sparks between them will affect their professional lives, both men grow more confident in the decisions they have made for themselves.

Victor felt Yuri's hand tighten around his as they got off the bus in front of the rink with a bit more than half an hour before their 12:00 pm session time. If Victor was honest, he was feeling a bit nervous himself. He'd had many things to deal with over his time as a skater, and had managed to dance around many situations when it came to Yakov questioning him about his whereabouts at a hotel the night before a competition or why he'd come in late to the rink for practice. It was usually because he'd spent time with friends – that is, until they all “grew apart” when Victor's life was forced to be all about skating. But while this was a new situation for them both, as they walked through the doors and Yuri's hand slipped out of his, Victor began to feel even more anxious.

Celestino had been somewhat dubious about taking Victor on as a student, more so than he'd let on to any of the other students and coaches in Team DSC. He'd straight up questioned Victor's motives, especially after all the drama that had been thrown at Yuri since the Olympics. He'd managed to reassure the renowned coach that he had no ulterior motives and that he certainly wasn't coming to DSC to throw Yuri off his game. He hadn't, and wasn't intending to. But he probably should have thought a little bit more about the fact that falling in love with his biggest rival could still spark the conflict that had caused Celestino concern.

The pair went into the locker room to change, then headed to the gym to warm up. The north side of the gym wall was all glass and looked down onto the rink below with unfortunately no way to block off the occupants from view. Wanting to avoid any scenes both men hung back from the windows to hopefully stay out of the view of the skaters below. One would expect them to be concentrating on their practice, but of course there was always...

“Yuri!!!!!”

Victor saw Yuri's face flush over, his back to the doorway as Phichit came in, boots still on and blades in hardguards, where he'd been on the ice downstairs just a few minutes before.

“Phichit, I need to warm up. I'm due on the ice in 30. It's gotta wait,” Yuri said, his voice with a slight edge that Victor had never heard Katsuki direct at Chulanont before. Phichit's response, however, was to immediately back off which told the Russian there was definitely some unspoken code between the two best friends as he'd never seen Phichit leave so quickly and without another word before. He watched through the glass wall, looking down at the doorway that opened into the rink below and the Thai skater appeared just as the session ended, heading over to his station to retrieve his things before leaving through the same door for lunch break.

Victor began his warmup routine without another word, deciding that it was probably not a good idea to press Yuri right now. Coming back to their training environment had made the reality of the situation close in on them both, and Victor was now deeply regretting allowing the events of the previous night to happen if only for how it might affect Yuri. He remembered very well the anxiety attack Katsuki had at Worlds the year prior, and now sincerely hoped his actions hadn't been the push that sent Yuri into another downward spiral.

The pair went through their respective routines, with Yuri moving onto the elliptical as Victor did his time on the treadmill. The 30 minutes Yuri had allotted for warmup flew by and finally it was time head down to rinkside to lace up. As both men gathered their things Nikiforov heard Katsuki sit down with a heavy sigh.

“Are you all right?” Victor asked softly.

“I'm fine.”

“Are –“

Yuri turned to Victor then. “Yes, I'm sure.” A closer look at Katsuki's face showed him to be almost _too_ calm.

“Look I... I just don't want this to throw a wrench into things,” Victor said. “I don't want to cause any distrust...”

“You're worried about Coach aren't you?”

“Well... yes. He's already questioned my motives with the short program music thing. He's very protective of you, with good reason.”

“Honestly though? Yes, he's helped me more than anyone else ever has. But at the same time... being off the ice and not working closely with him every day has kind of given me a different perspective. I think... it might be time to take what I've learned from him and start growing on my own. Making decisions that are my own and good for me. And if they're not, I'll deal with them. I've got to be stronger. I _want_ to be stronger. I'm kind of starting to feel a little stifled, like... I don't know. Working with you has felt different but in a good way... you don't baby me. I mean, I get why he's like that but... you almost seem to believe I can win more than I do.”

Victor had to smile at that. “Because I do. And for as much as you have faith in yourself on the ice, I've always believed that you're stronger than you even knew off the ice. And now you're starting to see it, and that makes me happy.”

Yuri moved close to Victor then, bumping the other's shoulder with his own affectionately. “Listen. I made my choices last night, and it felt good. And Coach has always said that you shouldn't live for skating, it should live along with you. And I can't very well skate programs about things I don't really know much about right?”

It took Victor a moment to realize what Yuri was alluding to, and when the comprehension dawned he broke into one of his brilliant smiles. “Definitely not. Research is very important to being a well-rounded skater.”

“Obviously we have to keep it professional here at the rink. But I'm not going to back down from seeing what this can be, or what _we_ can be.”

Victor's megawatt grin was punctuated with his trademark wink in response. “Then neither will I,” he replied.

  
  


  
  


Yuri and Victor did a very good job of keeping things all business for the rest of the day. Victor went about his own maintenance practice – he was still considering coming back for Russian Nationals, so he didn't want to lose his proverbial or literal edge – and Yuri did his usual afternoon sessions with Celestino. Yuri's final session of the day had evolved to being focused on choreography with Victor, and even though the pair kept their interactions professional, it was still evident that _something_ had changed.

Celestino watched with interest, Rowan standing with him, as Yuri ran through “On Love: Eros”. The movements were different somehow, with Yuri's posture and confidence level much higher than even the day before. But the thing that both coaches noticed the most was that seemingly overnight the normally shy Japanese skater had somehow begun to come out of his shell. Celestino kept his thoughts to himself for the moment as he watched, but Rowan, characteristically a bit more forward, voiced at least part of what Ciao Ciao was thinking.

“When did Yuri learn to be sexy?” she asked. “He's still not at Giacometti levels by any means, but he seems to be feeling himself in some kind of way that he wasn't even just yesterday.”

Celestino smirked a bit. “Well that's one way to put it.”

Rowan gave Celestino's shoulder a playful swat. “I didn't want to be the one to say it but...”

“I mean, something's up with those two,” Celestino nodded.

“You think they're...?” Rowan trailed off, eyebrows raised.

“They're keeping it professional as they should be, but I've been noticing them getting closer. Yuri's always had a thing for Victor. He always just said he looked up to him and all that, but I honestly don't think he realized he had an actual crush. A celebrity crush, of course... but since Victor's been here I've seen Yuri be more relaxed around him than around anyone else except maybe Phichit.”

Rowan paused to call Leo over to instruct him a bit on a spin sequence he was working on; once the skater headed to his patch of ice, she kept her eyes on her charge as she continued the conversation.

“And how do you feel about that? I don't think there's any rule here about relationships...”

“Nah, I mean, two of the pair teams that train here are in relationships. You can't really help that happening,” Celestino said. “I was a little dubious about Victor when he first wanted to come here, but I'll be honest, a lot of that was my prior experience with Soviet-era Russian skaters. I do think Victor genuinely wants to help Yuri, and he's been looking out for him a lot too. Yuri's needed to evolve and grow and he's got the technical part down, but you and I both know a lot of the interpretation aspect of skating comes from life experience.”

The pair went quiet then as they watched Victor walk Yuri through a small tweak in the “Yuri on Ice” long program choreography. While Victor had always been a little more open with touching insofar as guiding Yuri's body positions on the ice, there was still no real indication that anything more personal was going on between the pair. However, when Yuri began to run through the program in full, it was then that both coaches became more aware of something having changed within the Japanese skater. His movements were much more expressive, the story he was telling that much more evident. But it was the quiet middle section of the program, which had still been a bit underdeveloped up until even yesterday, that was the most changed. From what had been the barest-bones choreography came a section that exuded a quiet joy, an air of discovery and happiness. He seemed to be improvising some, eyes half-closed as he flowed through each position – arms open wide as if free-falling into a lunge as he glided around the curve of the rink, spread eagle into a forward outside Ina Bauer. The mood he created in the room was enough to make Leo, Phichit and Otabek, who were finishing their own sessions and still on the ice, take pause as Yuri continued. He marked out where the jumps would be as the program progressed, the remaining choreography infused with that same joy that seemed to be emerging further as the music built up more. As it swelled into the final flourish Yuri concluded with one of his trademark Level 4 spin sequences and an ending position that had changed from what he'd been doing previously: He reached out with one hand, not with palm up but down, as if placing it into someone else's hand.

Victor had been shadowing Yuri, recording him with his phone which made Celestino more convinced that he'd just seen Katsuki improvise what was possibly the most gorgeous and expressive choreographic sequence he'd ever done in a program. The trick would be to capture the mood that had just compelled the sparse audience in the rink to stop and watch for actual competition. Celestino continued to observe as the duo skated slowly around the rink to allow Yuri to cool down, playing back the video while immersed in discussion.

While Otabek had only stopped long enough to watch and then applaud before going back to work for the rest of his session, Phichit and Leo opted to cool down at the far side of the rink with Leo heavily suspecting that Phichit knew quite a bit more about the situation at hand than he'd let on for the greater part of the day. Leo quickened his pace to catch up to Chulanont as on the other end of the rink Yuri began the process of committing the largely-improvised choreo sequence to memory with Victor's help.

“Okay, spill. You've been quiet all day right up to why Yuri and Victor came in late today,” Leo said, skating alongside Phichit and speaking in hushed tones.

Phichit sighed heavily. “I promised Yuri I wouldn't say anything.”

“I won't tell,” Leo said. “Besides, it's kinda obvious it's got something to do with whatever went down with the two of them. Even Coach looks suspicious.”

“Okay. But don't you _dare_ slip up!” Phichit snapped, causing Leo to raise both hands and nod emphatically.

“All I know is that they stayed late here last night. Then when they came home, Yuri said he dropped off his stuff and went over to Victor's apartment. He said they ordered food, watched a movie and fell asleep.”

Leo's eyes went wide. “Whoa! You think they finally realized they like each other?”

“More like Yuri realized it,” Phichit said. “Chris said Victor had been holding out too but I think Victor was more forward about it than Yuri was. I don't know what's going on. I'm going to see if he'll tell me any more tonight.”

“If he stays in the apartment,” Leo said. “If he moves in with Victor I'm coming back to live with you. Otabek stepping up and letting me stay with him when my apartment fell through is all well and good but you're more fun.”

“Now let's not get ahead of ourselves,” Phichit said. “I'll let you know if he tells me anything else. For now, like I said... don't say a word. If Yuri wants this out in the open, it's gotta be his decision.”

  
  


  
  


Yuri and Victor had stayed a bit later than normal again, doing more work in the dance room on the new section of choreography before getting ready to walk home. Presently Victor waited in the lobby as Yuri ran back to the locker room after remembering he'd left his backpack there. As he headed back toward the exit he passed through the foyer and noticed Celestino's door still open; the coach was likely staying late working on arrangements for Media Day which was coming up that weekend. Yuri slowed his pace, crossing the foyer quietly and hoping that when he got to the exit into the corridor he wouldn't be spotted from the coach's office vantage point...

“Yuri, is that you?”

Katsuki stopped, his body gathering into a huge knot as he cringed. “Y...yeah Coach, I'm just heading out.”

“Can you come in for a minute?”

_Well, there's no way out of it now._ “Okay.” He turned and headed back, walking slowly into the door of Cialdini's office but leaning on the frame, giving an air of being in a hurry.

“You looked really good in the choreo session today,” Celestino said. “It was a big improvement from yesterday. I guess the sleeping in did you some good.”

“Yeah... I've been cramming pretty hard. I guess I did need a little break.”

“It seems like Victor's been able to pull some different things out of you that I haven't seen before. I'm pretty impressed. Today was the most I've seen you open up emotionally on the ice. The long program's starting to feel like it's exceptionally personal somehow.”

“Well... it's about the different forms of love around me,” Yuri said. “I guess I'm just thinking a lot about all the people who've gotten me to where I am, you know?”

Celestino nodded, a soft smile curling the corners of his lips. “And the short program... well. That's looking pretty spicy as of today. Where'd that come from hm?”

Yuri felt his eyes go wide and his face flush. “Huh? Oh uh... Victor had me watch some dance videos that had the vibe he was looking for.” It wasn't a lie; the pair had done just that the night prior, before settling in to watch the movie they'd chosen from Victor's DVDs.

“I see. Well, whatever it is, he's definitely helping you ramp things up a few notches. It's going to be pretty interesting to see the feedback after this weekend, when the whole world gets a hold of the video from Media Day. I'm pretty jazzed to see what they'll think of the new and improved Yuri Katsuki.”

Yuri smiled, half out of the thought of the likely surprised reactions, and half out of nervousness. “Yeah... I mean, you have to keep doing new things. How else are you going to keep people interested? I've kinda stuck to the same things for so long, it was time for a change. I'm just glad it seems to be working.”

Celestino hesitated with the same knowing, pensive smile curling the corners of his lips just long enough that Yuri began to feel concerned before the coach finally continued. “Well anyway, I just wanted to say that. I'll let you go so you can get home before it gets dark. I'm gonna be here a while yet so I can't offer a ride home tonight.”

“I'm good, I think a bus is coming in a few so I gotta go. I'll see you in the morning,” Yuri said, turning to leave.

“All right kiddo. Get some rest, you worked hard again today. G'nite,” Celestino said, then watched after Yuri departed with one last nod and smile, setting off into a jog down the corridor to the lobby before returning to his own paperwork.

Victor was just beginning to get worried and was considering going to look for Yuri as his approaching footsteps caused him to breathe a sigh of relief.

“Sorry, sorry,” Yuri said as he caught up the handle of his rollaway bag. “Coach grabbed me as I was coming back from the locker room.”

“Oh? Was something wrong?” Victor asked as they headed out of the main doors, the sun hanging low in the early autumn sky.

“Not really... but I think he suspects something's up with us.”

“Is that a bad thing, you think?”

“I... I honestly don't know,” Yuri said. “I don't know if any of his students have ever been involved with each other before.”

“Well... let's just play it cool at the rink,” Victor said. “And we just won't volunteer anything. But if someone asks, I suppose it will be because it's gotten obvious and there won't be a point in lying I guess. Besides... it's only been a day. We don't even know what's happening yet.”

“True,” Yuri said, looking up just as the next bus on their route home pulled away from the stop a block down. “Hopefully people won't pry though... well, except Phichit, who I'll probably get the third degree from when I get home.”

Victor laughed at that. “I suppose that's unavoidable. Chris is supposed to be calling me too actually. Why don't we grab the bus here and get the inevitable over with.”

  
  


  
  


As much as the pair really wanted to spend more time together, Yuri and Victor had come to the conclusion on the ride home that they would keep their personal time together relegated to maybe a walk or dinner during the week, and any more overnight stays on Yuri's part for the weekends. Neither wanted whatever was developing between them to interfere with Yuri's 'comeback' season, and Victor especially didn't want to throw Yuri's mental preparations off balance as well. Even so, as they stopped at the walkway leading to Yuri's building, Victor sighed heavily with a wistful smile.

“I take it you're thinking the same thing I am,” Yuri said.

“And what would that be?” Victor asked, his tone playful.

Yuri leaned in then, with Victor angling his head downward as he leaned in a bit, his voice a murmur. “I'd like to kiss you, but I really don't know who's watching.”

Victor's sigh was as wistful as his smile had been. “One day and you're already reading my mind.”

Yuri cast a glance up to the windows of his and Phichit's apartment. The vertical blinds were drawn, but that didn't mean Phichit wasn't peering between the slats. “Follow me,” he said softly, walking up the pathway until they were nearly under the awning that covered the entrance; a look through the glass doors into the lobby showed no one there.

“Ah, hiding from prying eyes,” Victor grinned. “Smart.”

“Mhm. Even so... don't get dramatic,” Yuri said, his tone teasing.

Victor sighed dramatically instead. “Fiiiiiine.”

Yuri couldn't help but laugh as he lifted up onto his toes to give Victor a soft peck on the lips, with the Russian leaning in to add one of his own in return.

“Makka's probably doing the peepee dance, you better get to him,” Yuri smiled.

“Wow, so romantic Yuri!” Victor laughed with a wink. “I'll see you in the morning.”

Yuri grinned back with a wink of his own as he stepped within range of the automatic doors. “See ya then.” Knowing Victor likely wouldn't leave until he was out of sight, Yuri turned reluctantly and headed inside, opting to get the elevator rather than struggle with his rollaway up the stairs. When he emerged onto his floor he couldn't help but hurry to the window at the end of the hall, where he was able to catch a glimpse of Victor as he traveled up the walkway to his own building and disappeared inside, illuminated by the lamps that were winking on as darkness fell. He turned back and paused at the door to the apartment, taking a deep breath and steeling himself for the onslaught of questions he knew he was about to face. He'd expected to see Phichit waiting for him at the kitchen table, but not Leo as well. The pair greeted him with expectant faces as he shut the door behind him.

“Hey guys, what's up?” Yuri said, trying to keep his tone nonchalant. “Study party?”

Leo blinked, thrown off as Phichit's eyebrows raised. “Uh... no... Beka went to dinner with his friends from the hockey team so Leo came down here to hang out. We were thinking of ordering some dinner and I was gonna text you.”

“Yeah!” Leo chimed in. “I found a really good Tex-Mex place that meets my exacting standards,” he grinned.

“Eh, I'm not big on that kind of food. I've got some leftovers from the lunch I grabbed on the way in today, I'll probably eat that. I've got some homework to do too. You guys go on ahead,” Yuri smiled, turning to head to his room. He had barely gotten through the door before the reaction he knew was about to happen came.

“Yuri. _Really?”_ Phichit half-yelled, tone incredulous.

Yuri dropped his bag and rollaway, making his way back through the living room to the kitchen doorway. “I could say the same Phichit, because it's obvious you broke your promise and told someone at the rink which I specifically asked you not to do.”

“I totally figured it out myself,” Leo jumped in. “I asked Phichit first. He was too quiet so I knew something had to be up. He only told me because I kinda already knew and then when you and Victor were working this afternoon I mean... yeah.”

Yuri sighed heavily. “It's been one day. We don't know what's happening. We're taking it slowly because he doesn't want to interfere with my training or our work together. And that's it.”

“But Yuri you _stayed overnight at his apartment,”_ Phichit finally interjected.

“And I told you what happened. We ordered food, talked shop a bit, watched a movie, and fell asleep halfway through it. And besides, if anything did happen that's my business and not yours.”

Both Phichit and Leo blinked at that; it wasn't like Yuri to be so defensive. Leo was halfway to opening his mouth to say something when Phichit hurriedly raised a hand, knowing the line had been crossed.

“Okay, okay. I'm sorry,” Phichit said. “It's just... it's been obvious for so long that Victor's had a thing for you. Chris and I both saw it. I'm just happy he finally made a move, is all.”

“He didn't. I did. Anyway, I have homework to get to.” Yuri turned abruptly, not interested in continuing the conversation or listening to any of Phichit's wild theories on what had or would happen. And as he closed the door of his room, shutting out the two skaters in the kitchen, those same two skaters stared after him, eyes wide at the revelation he'd left them with for a few moments before Phichit snapped up his phone and began texting wildly with Leo looking over his shoulder.

**Phichit:** I couldn't get anything out of him other than he apparently made the first move?!?!?!? YURI MADE THE FIRST MOVE? WHAT DIMENSION IS THIS

A few moments later the "typing" ellipsis appeared, the time it took for the reply to come through feeling like 10 years instead of less than a minute.

**Chris:** Yes, that's all Victor would tell me too. And that they're taking it slow to not mess with Yuri's training. But at least we have confirmation that there is A Thing Happening.

**Phichit:** I took video when Yuri was skating today during his choreo session with Victor. I'll send it to you. All I can say is whatever happened, Yuri skated like a different person today.

**Chris:** Cheri, honestly it doesn't take much to break someone out of a slump or give them new inspiration. I've been saying right along this is exactly what both of them needed. It will be interesting to see what the next few months bring, especially for Victor.

**Phichit:** Is something going on with Victor?

**Chris:** He's confided in me a while back that he was waffling about whether or not he wants to retire. He's enjoying helping Yuri and not having to worry about the season. But I'm hoping seeing Yuri coming back will get him in the frame of mind to compete again. He lost his drive without Yuri to push him, so we'll see what happens from here.

  
  


  
  


The rest of the week was filled with an air of intensity, as implementing the changes to the choreo sequence in Yuri's long program meant extra work to have it ready for Media Day on Friday. Yuri was sticking to the rule he and Celestino had made about the event by not reading anything about what was being said about it online, but the coach was well aware that there were even more media reps than ever scheduled to attend – including, for the first time, a few reporters from Russia. Celestino had a feeling that was more about catching a glimpse of Victor and figuring out what his plans were, and he was now thankful that Nikiforov had suggested he make himself visible as it would cut the speculation down considerably that would happen if nothing was said or seen about the Russian.

Yuri had been putting in extra time after his regular sessions, with Victor working with him for both programs once Celestino had met his on-ice duties for the day. The coach was actually starting to enjoy having someone else to look after Yuri, but even more so the fact that Yuri was beginning to show signs of not needing as much looking after, at least for the moment. It remained to be seen how the changes in Katsuki's daily training would affect the competitive season to come.

As Thursday began Victor took immediate notice of the atmosphere in the rink. Yuri had gotten rather quiet, focusing intently on his training regimen and doing a few extra runthroughs of his programs under Celestino's watchful eye. A meeting with all members of the coaching team and their skaters was scheduled for day's end, and during the day notices were posted at the entrance foyer, the secondary foyer which led to the various rinks, and even within the rink itself that Media Day was happening the following day, and detailing who would be allowed in the area come Friday morning.

As the end of the day drew near Celestino requested at the beginning of the final session that everyone wrap 15 minutes early, so they could get cooled down and packed up before the meeting. Victor found Yuri just as focused, insisting on running through both of his programs within a span of 45 minutes, and it concerned him that there seemed to be some underlying anxiety beneath Katsuki's all-business demeanor. As they headed into the locker room Nikiforov weighed carefully whether or not to ask Yuri if he was all right. There also seemed to be some sort of tension between Yuri and Phichit that had been present all week, and Victor hoped that was due to the coming event as well and not something else that Yuri had mentioned had been a bone of contention between the two best friends.

At 4:00 pm the entirety of Team DSC went to one of the conference rooms, where the coaches had already provided refreshments for the skaters who were certain to be hungry at the end of their long day. Victor sat down next to Yuri, taking the opportunity to lean in and give the Japanese skater's shoulder an affectionate bump with his own to get his attention. Victor was even more concerned when the smile that Yuri returned the action with was one the Russian had seen before: The outwardly-friendly but pensive-looking smirk that revealed Yuri was most definitely fighting his anxiety.

“All right everyone, I know you're all tired so I'll try to keep this brief,” Celestino began. “We mostly have to bring Victor up to speed on how Media Day works, so this shouldn't take too long.

“Basically, what will happen is this. Our first session in the morning will be private. I always want to start the day as usual so everyone can get into their chosen frame of mind. B Group kids sessions were moved to Rink C, so after our morning session that's when the media will pile in and set up in our rink. I'll be off working with them over there, so everyone just do your off-ice as usual, and your mid-morning snack break. Second session will be when the media starts filming. Of course, as always any of you that want to call it a day at that time can do so. But for that session we'll have everyone working on their short programs, we'll run it like a competition practice. After lunch, third session will be the same but with long programs. We'll skip the Free-For-All practice at the end of the day because of the press conference. Victor is going to be present and visible throughout this both as training on-ice with my guidance as per usual, and as an off-ice member of DSC's team, working with Yuri on the choreo they've collaborated on. After the on-ice stuff there will be an hour break where the media will move to our press conference room, and Yuri will do his usual media Q & A. Whoever else stayed for the day is free to go unless the media requests an interview from you.

“Which brings me to the next part: Yuri is the only one that is obligated to do media. Anyone else here can decline to be interviewed at any time, especially if they are off-ice and on their personal time. We're going to have some new contacts here tomorrow who might not follow the rules, so they may try to get information that we don't want out there. Play it cool if you get caught by anyone. If you wanna answer stuff about yourself go right ahead, but anything outside of that you'll want to decline to comment or defer to me.”

“Who are the new people?” Phichit asked.

“Well, we've got three Russian journalists coming for the first time ever,” Celestino replied.

A frown crossed Victor's face at that. “Who are they?”

“We've got people from Channel 5, Sportbox.ru, and TASS.”

Victor raised a hand to cover his mouth in thought. “I'm pretty familiar with how those three work as far as their skating coverage. I probably have done interviews with whomever they'll send. If it's fine with you, I think I'll sit in on the press conference. Hopefully my presence will give them pause as far as crossing any lines. Because quite honestly I don't think they're really coming here for Yuri.”

“I'm good with that,” Celestino said. “And that was my thought too.”

“Coach C can slap 'em down when he needs to though,” Phichit said. “I've seen him do it more than once.”

“I'm sure he can,” Otabek said. “But Russian media can be brutal, and we've seen them try things with Yuri before. But Victor is known for not taking any crap from the media so I think it's a good idea for him to be there. I might stick around too.”

Next to him, Victor heard Yuri sigh in relief and reached up to drape an arm around Katsuki's shoulders. “Don't worry. We've got this. I'm sorry that things are different because of me being here, but I'll do my best to keep them at bay. This show from our media is more about the Russian fans being bitter about what's happening, and that shouldn't affect Yuri.”

“You're not to blame for what your country's media does though,” Muramoto pointed out. “The Japanese media is hard on their stars as well. They will build you up, but if you don't stay on top, you start hearing about it immediately.”

“I know,” Victor said. “But I didn't come here to disrupt things or cause any conflicts, and if I can help prevent that, I will.”

“Ultimately, I think we should show that we are a team and we have each other's backs,” Otabek said. “I think we all should go to the press conference. Victor is part of our team now and we should show them that by being there to support each other.”

“I'm in,” Leo said with Rowan nodding in agreement.

“Phichit and I are always there,” Muramoto noted; Victor cast a glance over the table and was relieved to see Phichit nodding as well.

“I get it, we're gonna put out the 'mess with one you mess with all of us' vibe,” Celestino said with a grin. “I like it. All right. United front it is. And I think that pretty much covers it. Everyone go home and get some rest, tomorrow's gonna be a long one.”

Everyone rose to take their leave then, with Yuri staying behind with Celestino. Victor fought the urge to stay too, but remembered that at the end of the day, in matters of skating Yuri would need his biggest supporter, the man who had helped his journey to being stronger and more confident and who had been through this with him before, far more than Victor's well-intentioned but very uninformed offers of support.

Celestino waited until the room was clear, with Muramoto closing the door behind her as she exited, before broaching the subject at hand with Yuri.

“You seem a bit more worried about everything this year,” Celestino began.

Yuri sighed heavily. “It's just that I've been gone for so long and the nitpicking and scrutiny is going to be so much worse. If I'm not in top form for all the footage and stuff tomorrow, you know who they'll blame for it right?”

Celestino blinked, then frowned curiously with a negative shake of his head.

“All of my mistakes will be blamed on Victor. They'll be saying because you're working with Victor it's taking time away from me. He'll get accused of sabotaging me to stay on top. And that's the last thing I want.”

“Victor's a big boy. And he seems more worried about why the Russian media is hovering around you. I honestly don't think he'd be bothered in the least if the Japanese media tried it, or any of the skating media for that matter. Besides. You've been looking damn sharp all week, and whatever Victor has sparked in you with his input has really made a big difference. You honestly have nothing to worry about. Besides, it's a practice session at the end of the day. That's where you're _supposed_ to make your mistakes.”

Yuri nodded quietly, heaving another sigh. “Yeah. I just... I'll just be glad when this is over and I can move on to ACI. I prefer to let my skating speak for me.”

“Don't worry kiddo. We'll get through it,” Celestino said, patting Yuri's shoulder. “We've all got your back, no matter what.”

  
  


  
  


The next morning was like any other for the group, beginning with a quiet arrival to DSC which surprised Victor. On the days Yakov had held press conferences, the invited reporters would have already been clustered outside of the venue at the crack of dawn, catching his weary self as he wandered in to begin his warmups for the day. Inevitably he'd get stopped and questions would already be getting asked, and he'd decline politely as possible while making some joke about not being functional before his morning coffee before quickly ducking inside. The floor to ceiling windows of the rink would then be lined with the same reporters taking photos through the glass until the other skaters complained and Yakov would call security to take care of them until it was their actual designated time to be let into the rink.

But there wasn't a soul around as per usual this early except those who belonged there: The few junior level students who came in before school to get in some ice time along with their coaches, and the staff. He'd arrived a bit before Yuri and Phichit – he and Yuri had held to the 'keep it professional' mantra even so as to have different morning routines during the week – and had just begun his run on the treadmill as the rest of his training mates arrived. The mood was about normal for this time of the morning, as Victor had come to learn that none of the other four men were very talkative upon their arrival, much like himself.

Once everyone had gotten through the first part of their respective warmups and had gotten some coffee in their systems, the idle conversation began between Leo and Phichit, then Yuri joined in after he finished his time on the elliptical. Otabek moved off and started doing a walkthrough and some jumps on the padded area of the floor just as Yuri came over to the benches to sit down next to where Victor had done the same.

“How are you feeling today?” Victor asked, keeping his tone light.

Yuri nodded as he swallowed a sip of his tea. “I'm okay. I usually feel a bit out of sorts for about the first ten minutes or so when the cameras are there, but then I manage to tune them out once everyone's program music starts playing. I realized he didn't mention this but we actually play it a bit louder than normal to drown out all the camera clicks, so you'll want to be prepared for that in case it will throw you off.”

“I should be fine. Just, if you need anything today just let me know. If Celestino is busy or distracted, I'll have your back,” Victor said with a soft smile that grew a bit larger when Yuri returned it.

“Thanks. I'm pretty used to it by now. Almost everyone is from Japan and has been doing this for a while and they know the rules, so we shouldn't have too many problems. As far as the Russian reporters, Coach will take care of them if they misbehave. The Canadian ones are pretty chill as well, there's usually the main ones that cover skating for their TV stations here.”

Victor nodded as he finished off his own coffee, followed by a glance up at the clock on the wall. “All right. I guess we should get going and enjoy the quiet while we can.” His focus then moved briefly to Phichit and Leo who were heading out of the room with Otabek.

“Are you and Phichit okay?” Victor asked, becoming a bit concerned by Yuri's pensive expression in response.

“I had to tell him to dial it back with the questions. I don't think he liked that. For the whole time we've been here, there's never been a subject that didn't feel like we couldn't share between us. But this is different you know? I mean, I don't even really know what's going on yet. It hasn't even been a week. I'm thinking he might be feeling a bit left out, but just because I draw the line with how much I tell him about you and I doesn't mean we aren't still friends. At least, I hope he gets that. He probably just has to adjust to sharing me I guess. I'd probably feel the same if the situation were reversed.”

“I just don't want there to be any problems between the two of you. You've been friends for so long.”

Yuri rose, gathering his things. “It will be fine. At least he's got Leo to hang with. He might be a little jealous, but hey, he was the one who kept trying to help get us together. Now that it's happened, he's gotta deal with it.”

  
  


  
  


Victor paused at the door leading into the rink as he waited for the rest of his training mates to join him before they took to the ice, looking around the room in a bit of awe, but not the good kind. He'd never seen so many photographers and videographers at a practice session that wasn't for competition before, and despite his considerable experience with media even he felt a bit intimidated.

“Crazy right?” Celestino said as he came up behind Victor.

“I don't even think this many reporters came to press events back at Yubileyny,” Victor replied with a shake of his head. “How does Yuri handle it?”

“The first time was a bit nerve-wracking and he didn't have the best practice sessions. But now he's gotten better at shutting it out. We also up the volume on the program music to kind of tune stuff out. But if you don't feel like you can concentrate or feel off in any way you can just head off the ice. There's no obligation for anyone but Yuri.”

“I can handle it,” Victor nodded. “Besides, I told Yuri I would be there for him.” Just then the rest of the group came up from the locker room behind them as the clock hit time for the session to begin. As soon as the other coaches came out and took their stations the myriad of lenses all turned almost in unison toward the gate to the ice and Victor took the initiative of going out first, the other men filing out after him and leaving Yuri for last. The session began to feel like even more of a competition practice as Celestino called out that they had a six minute warmup and everyone fell into their requisite routines.

Victor tried not to be conspicuous as he kept an eye on Yuri, but soon found that he had nothing to worry about. The more he thought about it, the mock competition atmosphere was probably useful for Katsuki, who hadn't been on competitive ice since the Grand Prix Final the previous December. Nikiforov watched as Yuri built up from single to double to triple jumps, looking quite strong and focused; near the end of the warmup he knocked off a few flawless quad Salchows, the final one just as Celestino blew a whistle to call time. Everyone then convened at the coaches' end of the rink.

“Okay, we're going to run the music order as Victor, Phichit, Otabek, Leo and Yuri. Let 'em use you guys to get their camera angles and crap squared away before Yuri comes out. Treat it like a competition practice, anyone not doing a runthrough can find a patch of ice to practice stuff. Follow regular on-ice courtesy. If they start yelling for you to come over toward them or anything, ignore them, I'll take care of it. And that's about it. Go show 'em whose boss,” Celestino said with a smile. After a few more moments where Phichit and Leo consulted with their other coaches, everyone headed back out.

Victor was highly aware of the three Russian journalists who had their lenses trained keenly on him as he began a runthrough of his previous-season short program. Almost all of the other journalists were focused on Yuri, who was getting into practice mode for the day by going from triple loops to eventually, a pair of beautifully-done quad loops before settling down into tightening up a spin sequence from his short program.

Victor did the barest of runthroughs, marking out all the jumps mostly to frustrate the Russian journalists. Once he was done and the music moved on to Phichit's, he found his patch of ice to work on his own quad loop which, thanks to having the pressure lifted off of him to work on it, was now coming along quite nicely. Celestino watched attentively and called him over at one point to tweak his posture on the takeoff, reminding him of the shoulder he'd been tending to drop periodically in the air, which caused him to be off-axis on the landing. It was nice to be given criticism constructively, and even nicer for the Russian journalists to capture it on video.  _ Take that Yakov. Learn something from this. _

As Leo began his program Celestino called both Yuri and Victor over to his station. “Okay. Yuri, whatever you feel up to on the runthrough you can do. You don't have to do all the quads if you don't want to, maybe just give them a 4Sal for now. Let's not show them the full extent of this program yet. I'd say quad Sal, triple Lutz-triple toe and a 3A, but you can modify as you feel it out. Focus more on the footwork and spins, but don't give them a full taste of the presentation either. We want to save something for ACI.”

Yuri nodded, listening intently. “Okay. I gave them a few good quads earlier anyway.”

“Yeah, that's enough for now, don't forget you have the long to run through this afternoon too. Also, Victor, you observe with me here, since you did the choreo. And once he's done we'll both give notes. That should give them some nice shiny footage to work with. Sound good?”

Both men nodded, and Victor gave Yuri a wink while their backs were still turned to the cameras; at center ice, Leo was taking his bows.

“All right buddy, you got this. Show 'em who's back, back again.”

Yuri then finished what appeared to be a joke between the pair that made Victor smile. “Katsuki's back, warn your friends!” he grinned as he took off to center ice, his countenance changing to serious as he raised his arms with palms up by way of announcing himself, then taking his opening pose: Eyes cast down and half-closed, hands at his sides, one hip cocked up by the propping of the foot of that leg on his toepick.

Victor then realized just how much Yuri changed between private practice and when he was in front of an audience of any kind. Even though the presentation of the sexy, sassy program was dialed back Katsuki immediately caught everyone in the rink's attention, even the Russian journalists who had kept their cameras trained on Victor until Yuri had begun to skate. Katsuki flew through the complicated step sequences Nikiforov had choreographed, his edges clean and quiet, positions hit in a striking manor and held for effect. He stayed to the jump layout Celestino had given him, sailing through each easily now that he was warmed up even though all of the jumps had been placed after the halfway point for maximum point value. By the time he'd finished, even the staff members in the room were drawn to applause; the runthrough was a program a less experienced skater would die for, but was only a fraction of what it was meant to be. Yuri took his bows then came over to the boards as Celestino called 10 minutes to the end of the session, accepting a grinning Victor's hug of approval.

“Yeah that's what I'm talking about,” Celestino said. “That looked nice and clean and sharp. Of course we know what you can really do with this, but I'm all for letting them think that's all you've got in the tank.”

“I think that's a perfect strategy,” Victor said. “Let them think this is what he's always done, his softer choreography and demeanor. Then he'll come out ready to kick ass and take names at ACI.”

Yuri felt his face flush. “It was actually pretty tough to not go full out. I'm dying to get this program out there,” he said. “I'm glad we've only got a couple weeks left till ACI. I'm so ready. Skating this today in front of an outside audience, I'm realizing that now.”

“We're gonna show them what they've been missing, no doubt,” Celestino said. “No one's gonna be safe when you get out there.” He looked up at the clock then to check the time. “Okay, use the last five to wind down, then go for morning off-ice. Combine your snack time with an early lunch, because we have long program runs this afternoon and then go right into the press conference.” Both men nodded and then headed off to cool down with a lazy pace around the rink, keeping a bit farther back from the boards than usual because of the cameras.

“You looked really good. I could tell you were holding back though, especially after the runthroughs you've done the rest of the week,” Victor said.

“I get why Coach wants me to chill but all I want to do is show everyone how ready I am. People will probably be thinking I'm still recovering because I'm taking it easy in practice,” Yuri replied.

“But then you hit them like a freight train out of the gate in two weeks,” Victor reminded him. “No one will see you coming.”

“No, that's Chris' job,” Yuri shot back, causing Victor to burst out laughing, head tipping back as he clapped his hands. Over in the far corner, one of the Russian journalists made an extra note of their interaction, while the other two got it on video. As Celestino called time on the session the journalists all pulled back, sitting down in the chairs they'd been provided to begin reviewing their footage and notes as the Zamboni made its way out onto the ice.

“You looked good,” Otabek said to Yuri as the group headed into the locker room. “Coach tell you to hold back?”

“Yeah, we're keeping them guessing because these programs are so different for me,” Yuri said.

“Man I woulda let them see it full out,” Leo said. “I kept waiting for you to bust loose like you have been all week.”

“They'll get to see it at ACI, they'll know I'm not messing around then,” Yuri said.

“They weren't really paying attention to Victor except for the Russians,” Phichit noted. “I was kinda surprised.”

“I'm not debuting anything new or competing for the next while, so I'm not a threat,” Victor said. “But the Russians will be reporting back to the RSF and Yakov for sure.”

“They were filming you and Yuri talking when we went into cooldown,” Otabek said. “You're busting holes in their stories about you both hating each other.”

“I know,” Victor grinned. “Isn't it fun?”

Yuri broke into a grin of his own at that. “Yeah, it is. Let them cry about it. Maybe they'll have to actually worry about the skating instead for once.”

  
  


  
  


Celestino's approach for the afternoon session was a bit different than the mock competition feel of the morning. Instead of solo warmups, he had the group come together and do their usual basic exercises for the morning session, including Yuri giving them a figure to work on. The Russian journalists seemed perplexed by what seemed to be a waste of time on basic skills the skaters should already know, which amused Victor greatly. He'd been surprised at how much even he had grown to feel more secure in his edges since it became mandatory to work on them every morning, and was pretty well sure it also had a hand in the improvement of success on his quad loop. After another six minute regular warmup all the skaters had their choice of running through the short or long program again, with all opting for the long in the same skate order as the morning.

Victor began to skate to his long program from the previous season, “Aria”, with a bit of inward amusement at the fact that he still had not told Yuri exactly who the song had been written for. As he slowed down to mark out the first jumping pass he saw Yuri glide by near him, then alter his course to move in close enough for Victor to hear him speak over the music.

“Let's mess with them,” Yuri said with a grin, leaving Victor perplexed until he saw Yuri move seamlessly into the “Aria” choreography he'd learned for what had become the viral video of him skating to it. Victor caught up with him and the pair skated side-by-side as if they were working on the choreography together with Yuri spurring Victor on to add in a few jumps, even pulling off side-by-side quad toe loops. The rest of the skaters had moved off to the boards to watch as they finished the program together right up to the final ending pose, except Yuri changed his to end up facing Victor.

“You little shit!” Victor laughed as he and Yuri came together with a double high-five between them, then leaned in to add “that was fucking brilliant, they ate it up!”

“Well I had to let them know you could still keep up with me after your vacation,” Yuri winked, leading Victor to react with a mock-aghast gasp, shoving him playfully as they headed over to a grinning and laughing Celestino at the boards.

“Oh you two are dangerous together,” the coach laughed as he gave them both a hearty pat on the shoulder. “But it was really interesting to see you both side by side doing the same things. It makes it more evident how much inspiration Yuri has taken from you over the years. It's tougher to catch when he's skating on his own but the way he was so seamlessly able to mirror you is kind of crazy.”

“I'd love to see the video honestly,” Victor said. “That was a hell of a lot of fun, and I liked how it pushed me. It's easy to get lazy in runthroughs sometimes, especially if you've done a lot of them in a day.”

“Oh don't worry, I was recording you anyway because I don't have a lot of runthroughs of yours yet,” Celestino said to Victor. “We'll sit down and look at it on Monday. Now, Yuri I want you to take it easy till your runthrough comes up, and again when you do it we're going to dial it down. This time maybe mark out some jumps. I want to keep them guessing on the full layout. And Victor can observe with me again. Victor, I'd like to see you work a little more on your quad Sal, I don't think we did much with it this week. Work up to it with triples first because those are solid.”

Both men followed their coach's instructions and continued their own practice, with Victor staying near Celestino's station for him to observe his work on the quad Salchow. His success rate had gone way up between constructive criticism from Celestino and even Yuri, who had caught that same dropping shoulder as the reason why Victor sometimes bobbled on the landing. Victor was possibly even consulting the coach with more frequency than normal, after realizing the Russian journalists were trained on him even more in this session after his “duet” with Yuri exposed that he was still in competition form despite having taken time off.

Finally it was Yuri's turn to run through his new “Yuri on Ice” long program, and once again his fellow rinkmates cleared the way, all gathering at the end of the ice where the coaches were stationed. As the music began Victor saw Yuri's demeanor change, the emotions behind the story already coming to the surface. He could tell by the speed Katsuki went into the first quad toe loop with that he was getting more caught up and would likely not hold back as much as Celestino had instructed.

“He's got too much energy pent up,” Victor murmured to Celestino as he leaned against the boards. “I think he might have to skate this out.”

“Knowing him if he doesn't do it now, he'll come back after the press conference just to have one good full-out skate,” Celestino replied. “The kid's got stamina for days and I have no idea how he does it. If he could bottle it and sell it to other skaters he could retire a very rich man.”

Victor had to grin at that as he watched Yuri as the skater indeed went full out, albeit with a jumping layout that was nowhere near what they were planning for actual competition. He executed two more flawless quads, a Sal and flip, in the first half of the program and then dialed down to triples and triple-triple combinations for the remainder. The emotions in the program were quite evident and the new footwork sequence was where he slowed down a bit, still thinking through the new choreography that he'd only created earlier that week. He ended with a sharply-rotated, crisp Level 4 spin sequence and as he hit his ending pose, Victor was almost positive Yuri sought him out and extended his hand toward him specifically. Katsuki took his bows then came over to Celestino as the rest of the group began their cooldown.

“Nice, nice, nice. It's really coming together. You're still a little slow on that new choreo sequence, but that will be more than ready by the time we get to ACI. You're most of the way there on it already,” Celestino said. “I think we do need to call the program done though, because we don't want to waste too much time on new tweaks right now. We can always add them as the season goes on if we need to.”

“I think it's ready,” Yuri agreed, nodding to Victor who returned it. “The choreo sequence was really the last thing we needed and it feels good.”

“All right. Both of you go and cool down. The press conference is in an hour so you'll have time to get cleaned up and presentable,” Celestino said with a smirk that proved him to be teasing. “After the show you two put on today, I'm thinking things might get interesting, so be prepared.”

  
  


  
  


Yuri emerged from the locker room showered and in full Mizuno Team Japan gear, hair slicked back as if in competition mode and glasses in place, crossing into the foyer that led to the three rinks. Celestino came out of his office at the same moment, smiling at his charge as they met in the middle.

“Mizuno stepped it up again, I like it. First time you're busting it out this season?” the coach asked.

“Yeah. It's really comfortable and the jacket is a lot warmer than it looks. It's nice,” Yuri answered as he looked around the foyer. “Everyone else inside already?”

“Yeah, the gang's right in the front row. I gotta say it's pretty interesting to see Victor sitting there in his red and white Sochi gear. Pretty bold statement on top of everything else today,” Celestino replied as they headed down the corridor to the conference room. “Welp, it's about that time. Let's go in and knock this off so we can get the weekend started.”

Yuri broke into a smile at that. “Sounds good, I'm gonna need it to decompress after today.”

Celestino gave Yuri one last firm pat on the back as they walked into the room, with Yuri not looking up immediately as he sat down. With a deep breath he finally did as he adjusted the microphone in front of him, the tension in his body releasing a bit at the sight of his four rinkmates in their respective country's team gear in the front row.

The event began as per usual, with most of the Japanese reporters speaking in Japanese and Yuri replying in kind. Victor noticed as he watched that Yuri was quite at ease with those journalists from his own country, and even smiled when one asked a question. The reporter's voice was familiar to Victor even if he couldn't understand the language, and along with Yuri's friendly smile he knew before he even turned his head that the one asking the question was Hisashi Morooka, Japan's foremost figure skating expert. He'd been following Yuri's career since his junior days and Yuri had always spoken fondly of him.

Once the Japanese media had all had their chance the Canadian media was next, of course speaking in English. The Canadian media asked mostly general questions that Victor was sure had been repeats of the Japanese media's: How is his ankle doing (completely healed, now wearing ankle supports with his boots, doing new strength training, and modifying technique), that he looked very good out there (thank you I feel great), was he ready for the season (very much so, can't wait for ACI in two weeks). It was when Victor heard a familiar voice speaking in Russian-accented English that he felt his body tense a bit, an unexpected reaction as he himself hadn't been nervous at a press conference in years – at least, when he was in control of the situation.

“So Yuri, how has your training changed since you began sharing your coach with Victor Nikiforov?” the Channel 4 reporter asked.

“It hasn't changed much at all,” Yuri replied. “I still get the same amount of time from my coach, after all, that's what I pay him for.” Victor had to smile as Yuri smirked, his answer evoking a few murmurs and soft laughs from the assemblage. “But Victor choreographed my short program in full, and we collaborated on the long program. If anything, that helped Coach C out as it gave him more time to devote to Phichit, Otabek and Leo. He has always choreographed or helped to do the choreo on my programs, so anything that takes weight off of him is good for everyone he's working with.”

The TASS reporter stood up next, introducing herself. “Is it difficult to train next to your biggest rival? Does it cause conflict?”

“Well, we skated together this afternoon, and you can see how that went,” Yuri replied, his facial expression stoic; Victor heard Phichit, who was seated next to him, murmur “ohhh shit” at his friend's somewhat terse reply. “If anything, having a skater I have admired since my junior days who can match me jump for jump is motivational and challenging. We have also learned things from each other. Sometimes a fresh pair of eyes is good for pinpointing things your coach can maybe not figure out so well because they see you every day. And Victor comes from a different style of training. I've learned from a Japanese coach and an American one. Victor sometimes has a viewpoint I haven't considered and that always helps. Trying new things helps you grow.”

Finally the Sportbox.ru reporter rose; Victor recognized his voice immediately and braced himself for the same pointed type of questions he'd asked Yuri at previous press conferences, in particular 2014 Worlds. “So how do you expect to compete against Victor now that you are rinkmates? Would him not knowing the way you train make it easier for him to defeat you, or will it be easier for you to defeat him?”

Yuri paused for a moment, his expression darkening. Victor saw Celestino ready to step in, but Yuri began to answer the question on his own.

“I don't know, you can always ask any of the Russian skaters who all train with the same coach. I hear there's a coach who has at least four Russian ladies who are contenders for the podium at Worlds this year and they all train together. I don't think it's any different here. Any one of the skaters in this room could beat me on a given day and we'd still be friends at the end of it. So I don't understand how that is a concern.”

The room fell into an awkward silence for a few very long moments then, with even Celestino's eyebrows raising at the ire in Yuri's reply. Victor stole a glance around the room and caught Morooka with the biggest grin on his face as he typed into his laptop; the other Japanese journalists, most of which could understand English if not speak it comfortably, held similar impressed reactions at how Yuri had held his own.

Celestino then stepped forward, giving Yuri a pat on the back as he spoke into the microphone. “I think that's about all the time we have for Yuri. If there's anyone else you'd like to speak to, my other elite skaters are here and available for questions.” Several voices, a mix of the three accents in the room, then requested Victor. Yuri said thank you in Japanese as he rose, bowing somewhat deeply and evoking bows in return from the various Japanese journalists in the room. He then said thank you in English and stepped down to take Victor's chair in the front row as they traded places.

“Holy shit, I was waiting for you to start spitting fire,” Phichit murmured as the room was momentarily filled with soft voices and shifting chairs as Victor took his seat at the table.

“That last question pissed me off. They want us to hate each other and don't know what to do with it that we aren't. They want him to fail and it's bullshit,” Yuri replied, then turned his attention to the table as the conference continued.

“Hello Victor,” Morooka began, with Victor nodding and smiling in greeting. “You made a very big decision in the spring to change everything about your training situation including your coach. What brought that on, and why was Switzerland with Giacometti's coach not an option?”

“I had been training with Yakov in St. Petersburg since I was six years old. Obviously I had a lot of success with him. But after Sochi, I realized that my training wasn't keeping up with the younger skaters that were coming up the ranks. The quads I am working on perfecting now, I should have been trying when I was several years younger. I'm still capable of mastering them, but of course it's going to be harder because your body has been through more than someone younger. I realized it wasn't just about doing what you needed to to win and getting by on that, but also to keep learning and growing. So I guess you could say I just outgrew Yakov's teachings. It was time to move on and I think the difficulty I had over the last couple of seasons since Sochi showed that. Josef Karpisek is an excellent coach, and he did help me quite a bit. But after doing my homework and learning about Celestino's way of coaching, including speaking with Yuri, I decided he was a good fit for the direction I wanted to go in moving forward.”

“There are rumors that you're considering retirement rather than coming back for the second half of the season,” one of the Canadian journalists asked. “Can you confirm or deny that?”

Victor smiled as he listened to the question. “I don't think I'd go through finding an entirely new coach if I was completely done,” Victor said. “But I have been going nonstop since Sochi, trying to up my game and working very hard no matter where I was. I needed a break, and if I was going to be changing anything about my technique this late in the game, I feel it's probably better to work out the kinks in private. So I decided to take this time to do that. I haven't made a decision about retirement at all, but I'll be honest and say I did consider it for a short time before making this change. There's still things I want to do and try, including competing with Yuri as part of Team DSC and under Celestino's teachings.”

Victor watched for a few moments as the three Russian journalists discussed something amongst themselves; finally, the woman journalist rose, smiling sweetly at him. Victor knew who she was, and that something ugly was likely about to come from the pretty face before him.

“Speaking of rumors, there has been talk in Russian skating circles that you and Yakov had a falling out, and that you were also angry over him continuing to coach Popovich after his false doping report about Yuri Katsuki. You were also seen practicing at a private rink even as you were still Feltsman's student. And it also has been said that the program you choreographed for Katsuki was meant to be direct competition for the one you did for Yuri Plisetsky by way of sabotaging him. What do you have to say to those things?”

“I have a lot to say, actually,” Victor replied; in the front row Yuri had watched his face darken as the reporter spoke to him in Russian, knowing it didn't bode well. “I'm going to reply in English, since I know you're capable of speaking it and you're just choosing to be disrespectful. Yes, Yakov and I did have a falling out, mainly over how he decided to perceive my silver medal at Sochi. Yuri outskated me that day, plain and simple, and I grew tired of being treated as a failure for it. And yes, I was very angry that Popovich wasn't given a heavier sentence for what he did to Yuri, as I had seen firsthand other attempts by him to cause conflict, including an intentional collision with Yuri during a practice session. I was at the private rink to get away from the continual badgering I received from Yakov over learning the quad loop, during which he gave no thought to my physical state but all to my needing it to beat Yuri and 'regain my place at the top'. This resulted in the injury I got at Worlds the following year.

“And as far as the two 'On Love' programs, they were both originally my own. Before I decided to take at least part of this season off, I had been trying to decide which I would use for my own short program. 'Eros' was more complete, and thus I gave it to Yuri because he wanted to challenge himself with something new for him. Meanwhile, Yakov took the practice footage he had of me working on 'Agape' and gave it to Yuri Plisetsky and Lilia Baranovskaya to work on, without my knowledge. I didn't find out about that until after I'd given 'Eros' to Katsuki, and Yakov's intent to basically steal it and say that I'd done it specifically for his skater. So if anyone was trying to pull sabotage, it was Yakov. Lilia has told me previously that if I ever chose to speak out about this, that she would back me up. So I suggest you discuss it further with her.”

The room once again went deadly silent, this time even more tense than earlier. The Russian journalist sat down, eyes wide at Victor's extremely pointed replies. Celestino was again about to break the tension when Morooka rose once more.

“So now that you've been here in Detroit for a while, what would you say are the biggest changes and benefits to your new environment and coach?” Morooka asked, leading Yuri to smirk knowingly in his seat. _Leave it to Morooka to give Victor a chance to end this positively._

“Well, there's a lot,” Victor replied with a smile. “As far as the environment, it's very relaxed. The four men in the front row are my training partners, and we support each other. There is a sort of brotherly feel to how we work both together and separately. They've taught me I'm not above helping to patch holes in the ice between floods, or tidying up our break room or locker room. They helped me find an apartment by gathering up contacts for me even before I came over, and finding information I needed to bring my dog with me. Celestino was in contact with me as well during the transition and I even got a welcome party when I arrived for my first day.

“As far as Celestino as a coach, well. There's emphasis on doing your best, but not at the cost of your health. I'm the first to admit my diet was terrible, and I'd skip lunch or even dinner if I was too focused to get off the ice. But here, everyone has their specific time slots, and our morning break is specifically for refueling. And if you're not feeling well or hurting, you're not forced to stay on the ice and work through it. He would rather you leave early and rest so you can work at your full strength.

“I've learned that just because you've done things one way all your life, doesn't mean you don't have to improve. My quad loop and Salchow have gotten much better because of little things Coach Celestino has noticed, and even Yuri noticed. That's another thing that goes with all of us helping each other. I've received tips from Coach Rowan and Coach Muramoto as well. But the biggest thing is you're not made to feel you're above any of the other skaters. Celestino has given me the business more than once when I've tried to skip morning break or lunch, or tried to skate through not feeling well. I even got sent home early one day not long after I got here. I've had help breaking a lot of bad habits, and I'm already better for it. That's why I'm looking forward to competing once I've worked through all these changes. I want to see what I can be now that I'm stronger and wiser for having made this move.”

“Well it's certainly seeming like this was the best decision for you,” Morooka said. “And believe me, I speak for a lot of the skating world when I say we can't wait to have you back. I've gotten asked about you a lot and if I've heard anything. I think we'll have a lot to look forward to, so you'd better not quit yet! Besides, you're too young!”

Most of the room, Victor included, broke into laughter at Morooka's last remark, somewhat drowning out Victor as the thanked Morooka for his support. Celestino then stepped in and called time on the press conference, but not before several of the photojournalists requested pictures first of Yuri alone, then Yuri with Victor, then Victor alone, and finally all five members of Team DSC and their coaches together. The day drew to a close with Celestino giving some closing remarks before sending the media on its way, keeping an eye on his skaters to avoid any parting shots from those who had been hostile to them.

  
  


  
  


It was nearly 9 pm and Victor was already in for the night, save for one last thing the knock on the door produced. He broke into a smile as Yuri dropped his overnight bag and fell into Victor's embrace with a heavy sigh before he even stepped into the door.

“A very, very rough day,” Victor murmured as he nuzzled into the top of Yuri's head, hugging him tightly. “Come in, I've already opened the wine and ordered that amazing pizza again, it's on its way.” He reached down and snatched up Yuri's bag before the other man could do it himself, then closed the door behind them.

“Has it ever been that brutal before?” Victor asked as Yuri flopped down onto the couch with a heavy sigh.

“The press conference part? I kind of knew it would get nasty to be honest. But no, before this it's never been like that. The Japanese media has its way of asking kind of shady questions, but even those are more along the vein of 'well you could have done better at x competition last year, what are you doing to improve' type stuff. But I remembered how edgy the Russian media was getting with me, so I kind of prepared for it.”

“You held your own very well. I wanted to stand up and cheer when you went in about training together, that was fantastic!” Victor grinned.

Yuri grinned in return and made a “cat claw” motion with his hand. “Oh that pissed me off. And I didn't like that they were basically coming for you with that too. It really upsets me that they want you to fail just because you did something for yourself, to make your own situation better.”

“It's not a coincidence that the three media outlets from Russia were the ones that have always been the hardest on me. I knew how they'd play immediately and was worried. I knew I could head them off, but I was concerned for you. But it turns out I didn't have to be.”

“Even Coach was asking me where that came from,” Yuri laughed. “I told him it was the same thing we decided yesterday: They mess with one of us, they mess with all of us. But I don't think it's fair at all that they're coming for you without knowing why you did what you did. That's why I'm glad you finally talked about it openly.”

Victor sighed after he swallowed a sip of wine. “I had been waiting for the right time to do that, and Oksana Mishinikova has always been able to push my buttons in a not nice way. She's always been brutal to our Russian skaters, she even pisses off the fans sometimes. And from what I'm seeing online, the reaction to her questions from the Russian fans that still support me hasn't been good. And I still have way more fans than anti-fans now.”

“I'm glad,” Yuri said, taking a sip of his own wine before setting it down and leaning into Victor's offered embrace. “But I'm really glad that's over. Now I can focus on ACI and getting my season off the ground.”

“Definitely. I can see how that would weigh on you. I think we both knew it would be tough. But I have a feeling less people will be willing to mess with you now that the kitten has shown he has claws.”

Yuri sat up at that, laughing. “Excuse me? Who are you calling a kitten?”

“Oooh, sassy, I like it,” Victor grinned, then broke into laughter as Yuri 'pounced' on him with 'cat claws'. The pair then wrapped each other into a mutual embrace, with Victor leaning in to kiss Yuri deeply.

“Thank you for speaking up for me today though,” Victor said softly as Yuri leaned in to press their foreheads together. “It really meant a lot. I knew Coach would if need be, but that was a pretty brave thing to do all things considered.”

“I've got more reasons than just skating to do it,” Yuri said softly as he leaned back momentarily to remove his glasses before returning to lean his forehead against Victor's. “But the rest of the world doesn't need to know about that yet.”

“Not until we figure it out, anyway,” Victor said affectionately, placing a soft kiss on Yuri's lips. “By the way, skating together today was pretty fun. I think we should do it again sometime. Maybe if I get to do Victor and Friends again, we can come up with something to skate together.”

Yuri smiled at that. “That would be fun. It would have to be toward the end of the season though, when I've got the programs down to where I just need to do maintenance work on them.”

“Of course, of course,” Victor smiled. “In due time.”

“Yes,” Yuri agreed. “Plenty of time for that stuff. But right now I don't want to think about skating anymore until Monday morning.”

“Oh really? And what do you want to think about?”

Yuri was about to answer when his stomach growled loudly, causing them both to laugh. “Clearly, food,” he replied as the buzz of Victor's intercom signaled the arrival of their pizza order. “But after that... just us.”

Victor grinned in response as he leaned forward to respond to the intercom with Yuri still on his lap. “That sounds like the icing on the cake. Or the topping on the pizza. Something. But. Yes. That.”

Yuri laughed as he moved over so Victor could stand up, then playfully shoved him toward the door. “Well, hurry back then so we can get this weekend started, dork.”

“Okay okay!” Victor laughed with Yuri slamming the door in playful rudeness behind him and sending him downstairs with an even wider grin.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI. I'M LATE. I KNOW. I'M SORRY. The summer ended up being a roller coaster that no one expected, and things regarding the move took a bit longer than anticipated to happen and that included getting my writing mojo back. I have never stopped in the middle of a story before and even attempted to write during the hiatus when I had time, but too much was muddying up my head to get anything out. As it stands this chapter took me quite a bit of time as I got reacquainted with the the story and the characterizations. I hope the length of this chapter makes up for the wait, but it certainly is good to be back.
> 
> I deleted the dummy chapter before making note of everyone that commented to it, but please know I did see them all and appreciated all the well wishes. The move is done and I'm hoping to get back into a regular writing schedule ASAP! I felt really terrible about taking so much longer than promised so I hope you're all still here and along for the ride. 💙💜


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A series of unexpected events make the road to the 2016 Autumn Classic International anything but smooth while just as unexpectedly planting the seeds of potential friendship.

Yuri awoke completely disoriented due to his ringing phone registering as his alarm for practice on weekdays, along with waking up next to Victor on the couch again. He fumbled for the phone which was vibrating its way across the coffee table, and as soon as he saw the number he sat up with a grin as he answered. Victor opened his eyes, watching Yuri from where he lay as he took the call, and immediately growing concerned as Yuri's mood went from happy to upset in a matter of moments.

“There's no way to salvage it? Oh... okay... I... I probably have something I can throw together for ACI.” Yuri's face drained of color as he rubbed his forehead with a hand while listening to the person on the other end. “All right... I'll have to see what I can do. Thanks for letting me know... I'll be in touch.”

“What's wrong?” Victor asked as he sat up.

“That was my costume designer. The long program costume is almost ready, I'll be going for a final fitting for that on Monday after practice. But. The short program costume they were running a bit behind on, so she had an assistant help with getting it ready. He was supposed to finish the beading on the cuffs and steam it... and got the instructions mixed up with another costume. So... he pressed it. The thing is... the top part was acrylic brocade. You're not supposed to do that with it. Soooooo it pretty much melted. It's a total loss.”

“What the hell kind of incompetence is that?” Victor said, shaking his head in disbelief. “I hope they're refunding your money.”

“Yeah, they are. She also fired the guy on the spot. But in the meantime I need to go through my costumes and see if I have anything that fits the music.” He buried his face in his hands, sighing heavily. “God this is a disaster...”

Victor rose, patting Yuri's back and smiling with a wink attached as he headed into the spare room of the apartment. “Follow me.” Yuri frowned curiously and did so to find the room filled with boxes Victor had yet to unpack, one of which he was tearing open at present.

“So these are all my costumes from pretty much the beginning,” he said. “I had them shipped over because Celestino mentioned at one point that there is sort of a “loan closet” where skaters let other skaters who can't afford new costumes use old ones of theirs. Some of my most recent ones would probably need altering, but I'm sure we can have your costumer rush that through all things considered. Come have a look and see if there's anything you'd like.”

At first, Yuri wasn't phased by the idea; after all, he'd actually borrowed one of Phichit's costumes when one of his wasn't ready in a previous season not long after coming to DSC. But as Victor pushed the first box in front of him, Yuri began to see bits of costumes he'd grown up watching on television, ones that had memories attached of skating watch parties with Yuko and Takeshi, of collecting as many photos from magazines as he could of his favorite ones. He spotted the green Irish-themed costume the 2005-2006 season that Victor had worn for his first Olympics and picked it up, looking it over with a grin.

“I don't know if that one would work on you,” Victor laughed softly.

“I know... I'm just... kind of having some flashbacks, is all. It just reminds me of watching you come up and rooting for you at the Olympics that year.”

“Aww Yuri, I had no idea!” Victor said with a smile, his cheeks flushing over. He continued to watch Yuri look through the costumes and became more interested as Katsuki paused before picking one up with what appeared to be an air of reverence, gazing at it silently for at least a full minute.

“This... is the costume you wore for your short program the year you won your first Junior Worlds,” Yuri said, gazing at the large crystal prisms scattered over the front of the black bodysuit which was half black mesh with nude illusion fabric underneath and what looked like half a skirt on one hip that when flipped up, flashed an underside of red satin.

Victor smiled at that. “Yes. I had long hair back then, so it was made to call to mind both the male and female forms. I gave the concept to my costumer and he came up with this. In retrospect, it was a bit risque for a 16-year-old, but I pulled it off.” He paused then as he realized Yuri was still gazing over the costume, his face a mix of many emotions. “What is it, Yuri?”

The other man looked up at Victor with a soft smile. “This... that was the first time I ever saw you or heard of you. I was 12 and still Novice level. Yuko and I were watching Junior Worlds, and I just remember seeing you and being blown away. The way you moved, the way you looked... I didn't really know or understand what I was feeling, all I knew was that I wanted to skate just like you, just as good as you. I started following you, trying to find anything I could about you, and so did Yuko. We were diehards from day one. And as I grew up and watched you grow up too, I had one goal... I wanted to get good enough to skate on the same ice as you. I never thought I had a chance of that at first. Then I missed the 2013 Grand Prix Final by a few points. I was bummed... so close. And then the Olympics happened... and... yeah.”

Victor felt a lump in his throat, a heaviness in his chest, as Yuri had told his story; when he was done, he moved over to hug him tightly. “Oh Yuri... and I just went and messed up your dream, messed up everything...”

“What? What do you mean?”

“Chris told me I was awful to you that night. The podium, especially. I just... I... anything I say now will sound like an excuse. I just... wish I'd known then what I do now, how much it meant to you. I wish I hadn't had it pounded into me that I had to win or else. I just... I wish things had been different. I wish I could go and do it all over.”

“Neither of us knew what the other was dealing with then. And it all got resolved in the end,” Yuri said, leaning back in Victor's arms after returning the hug. “I understand it all now. It doesn't take away from it anymore. I was just as shell-shocked as you were, but for different reasons. But it's in the past now. Let's both not dwell on it anymore.”

Victor took a deep breath and nodded as he released Yuri from his embrace, then looked down at the costume again. “You know... if I didn't know better, I'd say that would fit you. Why don't you try it on?”

Yuri's face lit up with a huge smile at that. “All right... I think it might be small though.”

“You underestimate how svelte you really are,” Victor teased as Yuri stripped out of his shorts and t-shirt to his briefs to change. He was extremely careful with handling the costume – after all, it was 10 years old – still with an air of disbelief as he slipped his hands into the fingerless gloves at the end of each sleeve which he then smoothed up each arm. Victor moved around behind him, pulling up the zipper crossing Yuri's back from left hip to right shoulder in a curve that echoed the path of the criss-crossed strips of stretch pleather that cut across the sheer portion. He then stepped in front of Yuri, breaking into a grin.

“Perfect,” Victor said. “There's a mirror behind you, turn around.” Yuri had been staring down at the costume, still a bit distracted, so Victor gently took his shoulders and guided him to face the mirror.

Yuri looked up at his reflection, and for a few moments he felt like he was in some kind of strange dream. Victor peered over Yuri's shoulder from behind him, hands gently resting on his shoulders as he grinned. _Good lord, this is out of a damn fanfiction right now..._ He was brought back to reality by Victor's kiss on his cheek.

“What do you think, Yuri?” Victor asked.

“It... it feels pretty good. I thought the crystals would be heavy but they're really not.”

“Ah. They're lucite, not real crystal. A prototype did have real ones and they were so heavy they bounced and hit against my chest when I jumped, and one tore the fabric. We can have your costumer check it over for any weak spots, but I only wore this costume a handful of times. It wasn't ready for most of the season, so I only had it for Nationals and Junior Worlds, and for the tour I did afterward. So it's pretty much as good as new.”

Yuri took in his reflection again, his mind finally processing the full-circle moment he was experiencing. “It does fit pretty well...”

“It does. I'm trying to wrap my head around you fitting into a costume I wore when I was 16 though,” Victor said with a laugh. “But it takes on quite a different look when worn by an adult... and with the music you'll be using, I think you'll cut quite the _exciting_ figure on the ice.”

At that moment Yuri began to feel a bit mischievous, and struck the opening pose of 'Eros', followed by the arm movements and turn of his body that ended with a snap of his head and a withering look at whoever was in his line of vision, which at the moment was Victor. The Russian clapped his hand to his chest, fanning himself with the other.

“Ah! Yuri! So sexy!” he grinned. “Yes, I think this will be perfect. Maybe even more than the other costume you and Celestino came up with. I mean, the flamenco-inspired concept was nice but it's been done quite a lot.”

“We're supposed to do dress runthroughs on Thursday. I can't wait for him to see this,” Yuri grinned as he began to carefully strip off the costume. “I don't know what he'll think of it, but it will have to do at least for now.”

“Aww, I was kind of hoping you'd keep it,” Victor said. “But we'll see how it goes I guess.”

“Let's see what the feedback is after ACI, and take it from there.” Yuri laid the costume over a chair in the room for the time being, then put his sleep clothing back on.

“Well now that that's settled, how about some breakfast?” Victor said. “I'll make us something. I'm pretty good at eggs if I do say so myself.”

“That sounds good. I'll go and walk Makka while you're doing that,” Yuri replied, walking over to Victor and wrapping his arms around the Russian with a smile.

“I'm never going to get anything cooked this way,” Victor faux-objected, his words being stifled by Yuri's kiss.

“Thank you,” Yuri said. “I'm going to owe you big time for as much as you've had my back the last few weeks.”

“Oh stop,” Victor replied, ruffling Yuri's hair. “I just want to take care of you, is all.” He placed one last kiss on Yuri's forehead before untangling from his embrace. “Now let's stop distracting each other, at least for now.”

  
  


  
  


Lilia did her best to stay away from the rink on weekends, and very often wouldn't even answer any calls from her contacts there, especially Yakov. But after the third voicemail and several texts from Yura which were all a variation of “you have GOT to see this” and “oh my GOD I am DYING”, her curiosity got the better of her and she finally picked up on Yura's fourth try.

“I know you're not online much,” Yura said, “but I thought you should know all hell has broken loose so you're not blindsided on Monday.”

“What?” Lilia said, booting up her laptop and putting Yura on speaker. “What's happened?”

“I guess Katsuki and his coach set up some kind of media thing every year so the Japanese media doesn't bug the fuck out of them during the season for interviews. Well, along with that, Victor had some things to say at the press conference. Long story short, both he and Katsuki were savage as fuck and Victor exposed Yakov for trying to steal 'Agape'.”

Lilia got into her email and found several from Yura sending her links to articles and video footage from the event. She pulled up the press conference clip of Yuri ripping into the Russian journalist with a quiet confidence that she had to admit was very impressive; the shy Japanese Olympic Champion was most certainly growing up. But it was Victor's words that made her laugh out loud, while Yura on the other end did the same.

“Isn't that amazing?” Yura said as the segment with Victor tearing into Yakov and referring the media to Lilia ended.

“It is. Quite honestly, at this point they both have a right to say what they're feeling. I can't begrudge either of them for what their federations and the media are throwing at them.”

“I can't wait for Rostelecom. It will be the first time I skate against Katsuki, and from what I've seen with ACI, Victor is listed as part of his team. Not that I care for the drama, but I'm pretty fired up to go head to head. He's going to go all out.”

“I think it would be worth watching ACI to see what we're up against,” Lilia said. “We can adjust your programs accordingly from there. I definitely expect it to be quite the battle.”

“Yakov has been ringing my phone all morning. He left me three messages trying to get me to come into the rink today,” Yura said. “I'm not answering.”

“Don't. He is not going to wear you down like he did Vitya, I will see to that.”

“Has any media been trying to get in touch with you?”

“None of them have my personal contact information. I'm sure I'll have a full voicemail box and email come Monday morning.”

“You gonna back up Victor then? That will make things with Yakov that much more dicey.”

“I was married to Yakov. I can handle him,” Lilia said with a mix of a laugh and a scoff. “Of course I will keep my word. Vitya is not asking me to lie for him even by default because he told them exactly what he told me. I'm more interested in what Yakov will have to say when he's questioned about it.”

On the other end of the conversation, Yura broke into laughter again. “Ohhhhh man, I wouldn't want to be the media rep on the other side of _that_ interview!”

  
  


  
  


“Oh _hell_ no, really??”

Victor leaned over to see what Yuri was reading on his iPad that had elicited the reaction as best he could with Makkachin draped over his lap. “What's up?”

“Yakov was contacted by the same woman journalist from yesterday to verify if your statement about 'Agape' was true. He said that every skater he teaches knows they are being recorded for technical analysis purposes, and that the footage is then his to do what he wants with it. He claimed he once asked you to do a program for Yura, and since you never did so formally he says it was his right to take the footage and create a program from it. He also said it's fine because he intended to credit you.”

Victor was laughing even before Yuri was done reading everything to him. “He'll do anything to make himself look like the good guy and make me look bad. He'll be out for blood now. But it's not the first time he's been caught in lies in the media, so anyone that supports me and knows how he's been all these years isn't going to buy it. Don't worry about it, it's more amusing than anything else.”

  
  


  
  


Lilia did not expect the knock on her door, as she'd not planned for visitors this weekend. She was tempted to not answer it until she heard her phone chime with the text tone she'd assigned to Yura, and picked it up immediately to read as his contacting her yet again without her doing so first was highly unusual.

**Yura:** Sorry to bother you, but can I please come in?

She went to the door quickly and opened it to find Yura, skate bag on his back and face flushed as he stalked into the kitchen of her apartment. “What is it, Yurachka? What's happened?”

“Yakov wouldn't leave me alone, so I gave in and went to the rink for a couple hours. But that's not why I'm pissed off. Have you checked on the current roster for ACI lately?”

“I have not,” Lilia said as she put on water for tea. “I was doing my best to unplug for the rest of the weekend.”

“I'm really sorry,” Yura said. “I probably should have waited.”

Lilia gave a dismissive wave of her hand as she sat at the table, then gestured for Yura to do the same. “No, if you need to come to me I want to be here, because heaven knows Yakov won't be. So what is going on?”

“The reason he wanted me to come to the rink is because he's pulled Georgi from ACI and is now sending me.”

Lilia's eyes went wide at that. “What?! You haven't gotten your stamina up enough to do the short program without errors yet,” she said. “That gives us considerably less time for you to develop that with off-ice training.”

“Yeah. It's two weeks from today. And the worst part is I don't have a short program costume yet. They started from scratch when Yakov changed what I was doing. The one for the long program is just about ready though. I don't know what I'm gonna do because I know I don't have anything that I've used before that either fits my body now, or fits this music. And I'm not renting anything that some other kid's worn a million times. Not for what's turning into my senior debut.”

Lilia rose when the tea kettle began to whistle, pouring water into both of their cups. “Wait here for a moment. I have to check on something. Try to relax, Yurachka. We will work everything out.”

At Yura's nod she turned and headed to the spare room she had converted into a closet many years prior upon purchasing the apartment, heading to one particular area that she rifled through for a bit. At first, she thought the item in question was no longer there but finally, behind a few of her old dance costumes she'd kept for the sake of memories, she found what she was looking for and pulled her phone out of her pocket.

  
  


  
  


“All right... I'm not sure if I should answer this call or not.”

Yuri looked over at Victor, whose face had drawn into a concerned frown. “Who is it?”

“Lilia. I have no idea why she'd be calling me... but I should take it.” He answered, switching over to Russian as he greeted her.

“I'm sorry to bother you on the weekend, I know it's already late there,” Lilia began. “But it seems we have a bit of an issue to sort out that you should know about.”

“Does this have something to do with the change in the ACI lineup?” Victor replied. “Yuri was checking the roster today and saw that Georgi withdrew and Yura is going now.”

“Georgi didn't withdraw, he was pulled by Yakov. He wouldn't tell Yura why, but I think you and I both know the answer to that. I don't think he wanted to wait until Rostelecom to have what he's been calling 'his skater' go against 'your skater'. He seems to think you're coaching Katsuki.”

“Unofficially, I sort of am,” he said. “More toward presentation-wise, but still, Celestino is considering me part of Yuri's team for right now.”

“Regardless, I have a very big favor to ask of you,” she continued. “Do you remember the costume I had made for you when you skated your 'Lyra Angelica' exhibition?”

Victor grinned fondly, causing Yuri to frown curiously at that, and then at the equally fond tone his Russian words took on. “Yes, very much so. To this day it's one of my favorites. I'd love to have it redone in adult size and reprise that program someday, quite honestly. Why do you ask?”

“Well, Yakov has put us in a bind. When he changed Yura's program to 'Agape' from what we were going to use, Yura had to scrap the short program costume he'd ordered. And now that we have to debut this program almost two months earlier than planned, he's got nothing suitable to wear for it. I still have the 'Lyra' costume here that you left with me, and I was wondering how you'd feel if I let him use it.”

Yuri frowned even more curiously when Victor covered his mouth to snortlaugh into his hand for a few moments as he held the phone away from his ear. Once he composed himself somewhat, he returned to the call.

“I think it would fit the music quite well actually,” Victor said. “But I'll let you decide if you want to go with that when I tell you a secret that you might want to let Yura know about as well.”

“I can put the call on speaker,” Lilia said. “He's actually here with me.”

“Perfect!” Victor grinned; he paused as Lilia did so, explaining to Yura why. “I'm going to switch to English and go on speaker here, so Yuri knows what's going on as well.”

Yuri was starting to get concerned as Victor said this, leaning in so he could hear the other side of the call clearly while Victor brought him up to speed on what was happening.

“You see, Yuri had a disaster happen with his short program costume. It was accidentally damaged beyond repair during production. I brought most of my old costumes here for reasons, and he's chosen my short program one from that same season to wear because remarkably enough, it fits him. Now, it's up to the both of you if you want to go forward with it, all things considered, because it could come off as looking like we're going head to head once again with these short programs. I'd like to keep Yuri away from as much controversy as possible, on his behalf and Celestino's.”

“So Katsuki has one of your costumes too?” Yura asked.

“Yes, he does. He's right next to me listening by the way,” Victor noted.

“And how does Yuri feel about this?” Lilia asked, prompting Victor to nod to him.

“I mean... I just went through my own costume stress, and I know what it's like to be in a bind like that. And it's not Yura's fault. I can't very well say no and make things worse. That wouldn't be fair,” Yuri said. “And I honestly don't have any problem with it or with Yura; I mean, we've never even met let alone skated against each other. I guess we just have to be on the same page in case anyone asks why we're wearing Victor's costumes.”

“We'll just say he's got so damn many he's started his own shop,” Lilia snarked, a playful edge in her tone that caused Yura to laugh in the background.

“That works,” Victor said with a laugh as well.

“Thank you, both, for being gracious about this,” Lilia said. “I've seen this child's costumes, and he has _nothing_ that would have worked with this music.”

“Who are you calling a child?” Yura said, prompting everyone to laugh. “Anyway, this doesn't mean I'm not gonna kick your ass at ACI!”

“Language,” Lilia scolded, even while Victor and Yuri laughed on the other end.

“Bring it,” Yuri smiled.

“It's pretty big talk to say you're going to beat the Olympic champion in your senior debut,” Victor smirked. “Don't jinx yourself now.”

“Whatever your motivation is, believing you can achieve it is the most important thing,” Yuri said. “But just know that when I lace up I'm not going to the local pond for a Sunday afternoon out.”

Victor could tell by the wicked laugh she gave in response that Lilia probably had her patented, equally-wickedly-impressed grin on her face.

“Bring it,” Yura parroted back. “I didn't think I was on board with Yakov throwing this at me, but you know what? Let's do this! If the old man wants fireworks, let's light them up!”

  
  


  
  


  
  


Yura followed Lilia from the locker room of the  Sportsplexe Pierrefond in Montreal up to the section of seats that had been reserved for the skaters and their teams to observe practices and competition. The Zamboni was just finishing up its run with the second group of men about to take to the ice, and Lilia was adamant that Yura get a good look at Yuri Katsuki's skating in person for the first time.

Yura already had a bit of a feel for the Team DSC skaters' vibe, however. Leo and Phichit had been in the first group with him and there was an air about both men, though not much older than Yura himself, that made him feel closer to his junior level self than senior. He'd been watching all of these skaters online and on TV, but he found out rather quickly that their confidence and security in their abilities was far more apparent in the flesh. He'd also caught bits of the skaters' conversations with their respective coaches and found himself envious of the constructive criticism that was given out with an affirmative but respectful tone that garnered mutual respect in return.

He and Lilia both heard the arena fill with the white noise of conversation as the Zamboni pulled into the gates and off the ice and found when they looked up from keeping track of the online chatter on their phones that the seats had filled up considerably. From what Yura could see, it appeared that a decent amount of the members for this practice audience were Japanese. In the press pit, every camera was pointed toward the gate leading to the ice, the buzz in the room elevating in volume as the six men in the last group came out from the backstage area. As each name was announced they took to the ice, and the roar that accompanied Yuri Katsuki's name made it very apparent who the majority of the fans in attendance had gathered to see.

From the moment Katsuki stepped onto the ice, he had the room in the palm of his hand and he hadn't even done anything yet.  _ Everyone _ wanted to know, after nearly a year away from competition, what the reigning Olympic Champion was capable of. The Russian media had put a heavy spin on his bravado at Media Day, insisting that he was more than likely covering for the fact that he was still injured and likely wouldn't be able to beat their Russian skaters, especially not the new rising star they were already molding Yura into. But as Yura watched Katsuki's powerful crossovers and the gradual progression from single, to double, to triple jumps that looked as precision as lasers on the landings, he began to wonder if he had indeed been a bit overconfident.

Down at ice level Victor was at the boards along with Celestino, which was causing a bit of a stir of its own. The pair were a study in contrasts: Cialdini in his leather jacket, long hair in a ponytail, seeming personable and approachable with a smile on his face as he watched Yuri's warmup; Victor stood in a crisp gray trenchcoat over a suit of a similar color, impeccably-shined shoes, and stylish leather gloves, the epitome of intimidating Russian coach despite not officially being one. The only thing the pair matched with was their focus on Yuri, who made his way over to the boards as the first skater took to center ice for his runthrough.

“Looking good,” Celestino nodded. “I think since we're not dealing with jet lag here, if you want to go full out for your runthrough of the short, you can do that.”

“I'm not sure I want to,” Yuri said. “I kind of liked the holding back strategy from Media Day. I want the first time everyone really sees this program at full throttle is for the competition.”

“I agree with that,” Victor said. “It's still a style that isn't familiar to him or to anyone that's followed him. I am more of the mind he should save his energy and put it all on the ice tomorrow afternoon.”

Celestino nodded then. “Good point. I think I'm just as stoked about seeing you out there again as everyone else is, so I might be jumping the gun a  _ liiiiiitle _ bit,” he smirked.

“He's got four more guys to wait on before he does his runthrough,” Victor noted. “Maybe he can knock off a few nice quads of his choosing to let everyone know he's doing just fine.”

“Now that, I can get behind,” Celestino said. “Go get your quad feet under you. How are you feeling about the Lutz?”

“Too early,” Yuri said. “I'm not going to risk it here, it's not worth it for a Challenger-level competition. I'll stay with what I'm good on for now.” And with a nod that said “I'm done talking,” he turned and headed out to work on the jumps.

“I forgot, he hates too much banter,” Celestino said. “We gotta cut the Bobbsey Twins act or he's gonna put a blade up our asses.”

Victor laughed at that. “Oops. I'm sure I'll get the riot act read to me later,” he replied.

A few rows up from the ice, Lilia and Yura both sat forward in their seats as Yuri began setting up for what looked to be a flip. Yura immediately recognized that amount of speed as being for much more than the triples Katsuki had done earlier, and nodded as the Japanese skater nailed a perfect quad flip that looked even better than those he'd been landing before his injury.

“Victor has fine-tuned that jump,” Lilia confirmed. “His setup and landing are textbook Nikiforov.”

“He looks solid. Yakov is probably seething already,” Yura said.

Yuri continued to work on his quads, mixing them in with triples for a bit before tapering to doubles just before his runthrough. As he stopped at center ice he heard the entire arena fall into a hush.  _ They want to know what's new. I'll keep them guessing for now.  _ He gave a fair amount of energy to the first half of the program, which showcased his best elements: his tight, fast spins and lightning-fast footwork. After the halfway point, he decided to play coy and deliberately tripled the quad flip, then marked out the triple Axel and quad Salchow-triple toe. He did, however, strike the ending pose with a healthy dose of flair, and despite the incomplete runthrough the majority of the crowd was on its feet, happy to see him back to form.

“He's keeping everyone in the dark on purpose,” Yura said. “I don't even think the first half of the program was 100 percent.”

“Definitely not,” Lilia said with a shake of her head. “He's saving it for competition, and it's a good strategy. You cannot underestimate him, Yura. He's done some things on the ice that are literally baffling.”

“Yeah, I remember the quad Sal-double loop that he said was an accident,” Yura said. “And that program looks very ready to go. I've got a lot to keep up with, but I think I can handle it.”

  
  


  
  


“There was something different about you out there today. The atmosphere in the rink totally changed when you came out. I couldn't really work out what it was though. How are you feeling?”

Victor and Yuri had just returned from dinner with Team DSC and were settling in for the night. They had opted to share a room, which they'd thought Celestino would object to but surprisingly he had been fine with it. Yuri had seemed almost a bit pensive after the practice session, and Victor had become mildly concerned as a result.

“I'm good,” Yuri said. “It was nice to be back in my element again. I've missed competing a lot so I'm ready to go.”

“I would say just to be careful, because if you have too much energy, that's when it leads to mistakes,” Victor cautioned.

“Yeah, Coach C said the same thing. It was something I had a problem with in the past. I'd go out with a full head of steam, be all ready to crush it, and as soon as I made one mistake I'd fall apart. I don't fall apart anymore, but I still can get a bit ahead of things. I kind of felt it today but I'm glad you've both seen it. It will help me remember to chill.”

Victor smiled and nodded at that. “It was hard not to feel the bit of a... reverent? feel to the room when you came out. If nothing else, you're still quite loved and respected.”

Yuri flopped back on the bed with a sigh. “Yeah... that's been the toughest thing to deal with. I'm just me, you know? I know what I went through to get here. Sure people saw me falter on the way up, and not so long ago I was more known for my meltdowns than medals. But now instead of feeling like everyone looks at me like the sure loser, they expect me to win every time. And that's harder to cope with than not being expected to do well, I think.”

Victor laid down next to him, propping his head up with a hand. “I don't disagree with that. And it's a million times worse when even those around you think that way. They start to not see you as a human being after a while. I'm really glad Celestino isn't like that. Being where you are now is difficult enough without the weight of the world being dropped on your shoulders by the people who should support you.”

Yuri looked over at Victor then, his brown eyes full of sympathy. “I'm glad you finally got away from that. I don't understand how anyone could see you that way.”

“Skating is all business in Russia. The more successful your students are, the more students you'll get. I'm sure there are Russian skaters that have a good relationship with their coaches. Lilia always watched over me the best she could, until the divorce. It was after that that Yakov changed a lot. He was always tough, but at least I had her as a buffer. I'm glad she's doing the same for Yura now, maybe even more so. Now that she's on her own, she has a lot more say in her own life and feelings. She'll likely protect Yura much more than she was able to do for me. So if what I've been through has helped her to know more of what to do, then so be it.”

Yuri snuggled up to Victor's chest then, with Victor's arms wrapping around him in return. “Whenever you do start to skate again, it will be different. Coach might bust your balls sometimes, but he really likes you.”

“Trust me, his ball-busting is like getting whapped with a throw pillow in comparison. But because of that I can actually take him seriously. When you're usually just yelled at and have a wall of sound coming at you, you stop listening after a while. But anyway, we're here to take care of you. You don't have to worry about me.”

“I know. But I still do. I just want to get through this competition without any side drama, you know?”

Victor nodded, giving Yuri a squeeze. “Absolutely. I think we'll be all right though.”

Yuri was quiet for just long enough that Victor thought he'd fallen asleep, when he heard him draw in a breath to speak.

“So... was it weird seeing Yura skate to 'Agape' today? Did they change a lot of it?”

_ Ah, so that's what's bugging him. _ “Not really. I'm pretty sure Yakov had enough footage to piece it all together. I know where all the original parts were, but I can see how Lilia polished it all so it flows. That's what she'd do with my choreography, she was a second pair of eyes for me until she couldn't be there anymore. I like what they've done with it, especially since I can tell Yakov didn't have anything to do with it at all. But quite honestly, unless Lilia has worked some serious magic, I don't see him being able to beat you with it. At least, not yet.”

Yuri's head popped up from where it rested on Victor's chest. “Not  _ yet?” _ he said with a smirk.

“He might get to that point just as you're ready to retire,” Victor grinned.

“That's more like it. We were about to have words otherwise.”

“Oh really?” Victor laughed. “Someone's getting sassy tonight. I think you should save that sass for tomorrow, you'll need it to pull off this program.”

Yuri moved up to trap Victor's mouth in a deep kiss then, hands coming up to cradle his face as he purred against Victor's lips. After a few moments he drew back, leaving Victor to pull in a deep breath as he fought to clear his head.

“Is that sassy enough?” Yuri asked with a playful smirk.

“Mmm... not quite. I think you've got more in you that we have to unlock.”

“Oh? And how should we do that?”

“I can think of a few ideas,” Victor said. “It just depends on if you're... up... for it.”

Yuri's eyes went wide at that, his words mixed with a nervous laugh. “Excuse me?”

Victor blinked, then covered his face with both hands, his words muffled. “Oh my god where did that even come from... I'm sorry...”

“I mean... it's not that I don't _want_ to,” Yuri stammered. “It's just... we haven't gotten that far yet and...”

Victor lowered his hands, face bright red. “This is neither the time nor place for that, I know. The last place I'd want to take that step is in some hotel room. I just... I didn't mean to blurt it out like that.”

Yuri leaned in and kissed Victor again, the other man's arms wrapping around once more. “I was teasing, it's okay. But yeah... not here. But... soon.”

Victor blinked at that, then smiled sheepishly. “We'll take it slow. I mean... it's not like I know what I'm doing.”

It was Yuri's turn to blink. “What?”

“Yuuuurrrriiiii what do you think I am, a playboy?” Victor teased with a mock stern face that lasted all of three seconds before he cracked a smile.

“Well I mean... there were rumors that you were with people over the years, but nothing was ever confirmed... especially Chris...”

“Chris?? Oh god no, we were never together!” Victor said with a genuine laugh. “We've been friends for way too long for that. It might have started out as a mutual crush, but he's definitely a brother to me now. But as far as anyone else, it's never been serious. Most of the time the rumors came because I'd go as someone's plus one to a wedding as a favor, or I'd be seen chatting with one of the women at a banquet and being what some would think was too friendly. But no... there's never been anyone I've wanted to go that far with. Not... not until you.”

Yuri covered his face with both hands then, hiding it in Victor's chest.

“What is it Yuri?”

“I swear to god I'm living in a fanfiction right now.”

“Yuuuriiiii did you write fanfiction about me?”

“No! But... I might have read some...”

“I'm not sure how I feel knowing there's fanfiction about me that you didn't write.”

Yuri's head shot up at that. “What?? Stop! You are such a damn brat!!”

Victor was full-out laughing now. “Your face, oh my god! I --” Before he could finish his sentence Yuri had smothered his lips in another kiss, which Victor returned with a startled squeak into Yuri's mouth.

“I might not have written anything, but I had lots of dreams,” Yuri murmured against his lips. “That's what I'll use tomorrow, along with the one about what's to come when we get home.”

Victor's lips curved into a smile against Yuri's, his arms hugging him close. “I think that will work splendidly,” he purred.

  
  


  
  


“Gentlemen, you have six minutes for your warmup.”

Phichit and Leo took to the ice along with the rest of the first group of men, beginning the warmup the way everyone on Team DSC did, from the youngest skaters right up to their highest-ranked star. Both found it difficult as each was wound up about their first competition of the season but for Phichit, things were feeling a little more different than usual.

As he warmed up, easing into the jumps, Phichit couldn't help but think about the difference in his and Yuri's friendship since Yuri and Victor had become closer. The pair still spent time together, and the initial tension had eased once Phichit got used to having boundaries set by Yuri where there hadn't been any before. But the subtle shift in Yuri's competition prep and his rooming with Victor had sparked a bit of melancholy in Chulanont's generally upbeat demeanor. Leo had pointed out that Phichit had been the one working with Chris to get them together, and of course that was true. But the Thai skater had found himself unexpectedly thrown by no longer having Yuri's undivided friendship as his foundation.

At the same time, it had sparked something in Phichit's competitive motivation. The pair had always kept their friendship separate from competition, but now as he watched Yuri and Victor's relationship off the ice become intertwined with their relationship on it, Phichit had decided it was time to start pushing the envelope a bit. He'd been working on his own new quad, a Salchow, and as the warmup ended and he headed over to Celestino and Muramoto, he came to the decision on how he'd make sure Yuri didn't forget their mutual agreement of the ice being the one place they were enemies.

As the warmup ended Leo headed backstage with Rowan, pausing to step aside as Yakov Feltsman nearly bulldozed past them, his permanent scowl in place. Yuri Plisetsky followed behind, rolling his eyes as Feltsman muttered something in Russian while Lilia Baranovskaya gave Plisetsky's shoulder a pat and said something in a reassuring tone of her own in their native tongue. He would skate last in the group and had looked quite strong in the warmup, but because he'd only done a few triples no one was really sure how much potential lurked beneath the surface.

Yuri and Victor were just making their way into the locker room after Yuri finished his off-ice warmup when they passed by one of the widescreen monitors, which showed Phichit taking center ice to begin his short program. Victor blinked in surprise as Yuri stopped short, turning back and walking over to watch his friend, something Katsuki never did when he was prepping for his own performances. Victor stepped over next to him as Yuri watched silently, smiling softly when Phichit nailed each of his three required jumping passes: Quad Salchow, triple Axel, and triple Lutz-double toe.

“He looks nice and sharp,” Victor said. “I didn't think he was putting the Salchow in so early.”

“Coach C will probably be surprised but at least he landed it, even if it got a slight negative GOE,” Yuri said. “It's just... Phichit's always wanted to skate to this music. Both of his programs are from two Thai musicals called _The King and the Skater I and II_. No one's ever used the music, especially not a Thai skater. He wanted to be the first, and he wanted me to be there to see it. I promised I'd watch, and I'm glad I got to.”

Victor frowned with a bit of concern. “Did he think you wouldn't?”

Yuri turned from the monitor as Phichit skated over to the Kiss and Cry. “Maybe not, because he knows how I am before competitions. We didn't talk very much today, he's been spending more time with Leo.” Victor was about to ask more about why when Yuri abruptly headed to the changing room, garment bag slung over his shoulder. “Anyway, I gotta change.”

Victor made a mental note to ask more about what was going on later as he nodded. “All right. Call me if you need any help.” He continued to watch the monitor as he waited, with the third skater being Leo. While Leo didn't have a consistent enough quad to include in his short program, his self-choreographed piece to the song “Still Alive” was quite intricate and his presentation on point. Victor admired the American skater's flare and smiled warmly as his program concluded.

Yuri emerged then, carrying his skates which he set down at a bench in the warmup area while he loosened up a bit more. Victor walked over and kept watch as Yuri did a few jumps on the floor in his sneakers, his expression darkening up into his focused mode. Celestino came over once he was done discussing Leo's performance with him and Rowan, watching Yuri silently as he sat down to lace up.

“Something's bugging him,” Celestino said quietly.

Victor blinked; he was pretty sure Yuri hadn't said anything to his coach prior to now and was impressed as to how in tune Cialdini was with Katsuki's moods. “He was a bit... not emotional, but... I don't know what the word would be, but he watched Phichit skate earlier. I guess Phichit had wanted Yuri to see him skate to this music.”

“Ahhh, yes,” Celestino nodded. “Phichit's talked about using this music since he first came to DSC. It took a while to get permission from the rights holders for it, and also for him to have the right amount of presentation skills to pull it off. He's played with it on and off every season and it just never really stuck until this year. And Phichit was on fire out there. If Yuri watched, then he's got a fire under his tail now too. That's probably it.”

Victor did his best to cover the sigh of relief as the coach moved on from the observation when Yuri rose, nodding to Celestino as he tucked his earbuds into the pocket of his Team Canada jacket.

“How you doing buddy? You ready to kick some butt?” Celestino grinned.

“Oh yeah. I'm really not happy about skating last, I hate waiting when I'm this fired up.”

Victor discreetly slipped away, not wanting to intrude as Yuri and Celestino began their pre-warmup conversation, one he'd seen himself during the two seasons he'd competed against Yuri. Instead he went back over to the monitor, where the fifth skater was just receiving his marks, leaving only Yura Plisetsky to skate. Victor had difficulty not letting his mind wander back in time as Yura's image filled the screen, the iridescent white and silver costume sparkling under the lights as he struck his opening pose.

The ethereal music started with a boy soprano's voice ringing bell-like through the arena as Yura began to skate. Victor had to admit he didn't remember much of working on 'Agape', as it had been during the time he had neared his limit in dealing with Yakov as well as his other insolent rink mate, Georgi. But as the program went on, the choreography backloaded so all the jumps were after the halfway point as 'Eros' was, more and more of it came back to Nikiforov's mind. He couldn't help but smile at the heavy presence of Lilia's polish over his work and found himself content with it, to the point that when Yura nailed his very impressive set of jumping passes – Quad Salchow, triple Axel, and quad toe-double toe – he was jarred back to reality. A second later, a tap on his shoulder threw him more and he turned to see Celestino heading toward the tunnel with Yuri and the other members of the final group. With one last glance back at the image of Plisetsky taking his bows Victor hurried to catch up, walking on the side of Yuri opposite of Celestino.

“How did he do?” Yuri asked him as they walked through the curtains that were held back by the volunteers to the holding area at the gate to the ice.

“Very well. But your planned content is stronger,” Victor said.

“Oh yeah, you choreographed that program right?” Celestino confirmed.

Victor nodded. “Yes, that was the companion piece to 'Eros'.”

“Ahh, gotcha. It was definitely different, I see that now,” Celestino said; his words cut off a moment later as Yuri stripped off his Team Japan jacket to reveal the sleek black catsuit with its gleaming lucite prisms catching the light, the black sheer mesh backed with nude illusion fabric causing anyone who looked at it to do a double take to be sure that Katsuki wasn't actually baring skin.

“Looks like the Kat's grown claws,” Celestino grinned. “Who you ripping up out there buddy?”

Yuri smirked, a wicked tinge to it. “Everyone,” he replied, causing Celestino's eyebrows to raise and Victor to smirk knowingly as he draped the jacket Yuri handed him over his arm. Behind them, Victor could already hear the conversation and a few squeals as some of the Japanese fans who'd traveled quite far to see their hero in action caught sight of the costume, which was about the most risque Katsuki had ever worn. Yuri stepped over next to Otabek as the gate opened, the rink mates shaking hands before heading out for the warmup and the crowd erupting into a roar when Yuri's name was announced.

“Plisetsky's in first,” Celestino noted as he and Victor took their place at the boards. “Did you know he had two quads?”

“I did not,” Victor said. “The last I'd remembered, Yakov was not allowing him to do them yet but that was quite some time ago.”

Celestino watched as Yuri warmed up slowly, knocking off a gorgeous quad Salchow as Jean-Jacques Leroy gave him a wide berth during his own warmup. The Canadian skater quickly went over to the boards where his coaches, who were also his parents, gave him some instruction. JJ went back out, circling around the rink and when he was within Yuri's sight lines, attempted a quad loop that ended with a wide-swinging free leg, the Canadian fans groaning audibly in the crowd.

Both Victor and Celestino saw Yuri's eyes narrow then, the competitive fire building. Victor smirked as he remembered the game of one-upmanship Yuri liked to play in warmup, and watched as he crossed over in between JJ's parents at the boards and JJ near center ice. After minimal setup he proceeded to knock off a pristine quad loop that made the audience erupt in cheers as the one minute warning was called.

“It's Katsuki's world, we're just living in it,” Celestino said. “He looks better than he ever has. I gotta say, you helped streamline his jumps a lot. You really should consider coaching with a technical specialty whenever you retire, Victor.”

Victor smiled modestly as he watched Yuri wind down. “I know what I know. You've helped me a lot as well, so we'll call it even.” He then took up Yuri's hardguards, stepping over to the gate as Katsuki approached, waiting for him to execute his customary bow to the ice before placing the guards on his blades and stepping off. Celestino stayed out at rinkside as Otabek was the first to skate, while the rest of the field and their coaches retreated backstage.

Yuri opted to keep his boots laced up, as the wait time with the short programs usually flew by rather quickly when one skated last. Instead Yuri put his earbuds back in and paced, retreating into his own bubble and blocking out everyone else's performances as Victor watched over him, eventually joined by Celestino once Otabek finished his short program, which put him just three points ahead of Yuri Plisetsky.

Up in the reserved section Leo and Phichit had settled in to watch, cheering loudly for Otabek especially after his marks were announced. Leo noticed that Phichit seemed a bit pensive still, and weighed his words carefully as the next skater took to the ice.

“Hey... you okay?” Leo asked.

“Huh? Uh... yeah. Just wishing I'd landed my quad clean,” Phichit said.

“You sure?”

Phichit was silent for a bit; when the current skater finished he sighed heavily. “I just... I guess I'm getting used to things being different for Yuri now. Whenever we were at a comp together before we'd always stick together as much as we could, except during the competition itself. It's just... weird not having him around.”

“Well... I did tell you to call him last night when we were hanging out after dinner, but you didn't.”

Phichit paused to steal a passing glance at Yuri Plisetsky and Lilia Baranovskaya as they passed by in the aisle, sitting down a few rows below them in the mostly empty section of seats. “He was with Victor.”

“Well yeah. But you could have invited him still. Even if he didn't come, it's better than leaving him out entirely. You kept wanting him to get together with Victor, so you can't start making him feel bad about finally taking the jump you know?”

Phichit remained silent then as JJ skated to center ice. “Wonder if JJ is gonna try a quad loop now just to be a jerk,” he said, changing the subject and causing Leo to heave an exasperated sigh and drop things for the time being.

Five rows below the DSC rink mates Lilia sat with Yura, who scoffed as JJ began his program. “This guy was an absolute terror in Juniors. I don't know what his deal is, but he's a massive showoff and he's obnoxious as hell. He's got the jumps but the problem is he knows it and he talks a lot of trash.”

“I think Katsuki put him in his place quite well then,” Lilia smirked. “I wondered why Victor seemed so pleased during the warmup.”

“That was pretty amazing,” Yura agreed just as JJ took a fall on his triple Axel after landing a quad toe loop just a few seconds prior. “And so was that!”

“Yura! You should always be a good sportsman whether or not you like the other competitors personally,” Lilia said. “Don't go down the path Yakov led Georgi.”

Yura cringed at the thought as JJ finished his program, having tripled the quad Salchow in his combination. “I'll do my best. But some guys just get on my last nerve.”

Backstage as the fifth skater in the group began his program Victor walked over to Yuri, crossing in front of him to get his attention as the skater paced, earbuds still in. Yuri looked up, taking them out of his ears.

“Fifth man just started. Time to head up,” Victor said, with Yuri nodding in acknowledgment. Celestino then walked over, giving Yuri a pat on the shoulder; Victor was about to step away to give the pair their space, but Yuri reached out a hand to stay him.

“Now remember. This is your comeback, sure, but this is also a warmup competition. If _anything_ feels off to you physically, don't push it. I know you're fully healed and looking good, but this is not the place to push hard if you don't need to. We just want you to get your blades back under you and fully dipped into your element. Okay buddy?” Celestino said.

Yuri nodded in reply. “Okay. I feel really good today though, and the ankle hasn't been puffy in about a week now. I'll be all right.”

The volunteer called for Yuri to head to the tunnel exit with his team and the trio turned to leave, but not before Celestino nodded to Victor. “Anything you'd like to add?”

Victor smiled softly then winked at Yuri, who returned both in kind. “Just remember the visuals we talked about. If you feel out of place in your presentation at all, just rely on your strengths. But I think you've got this.”

They emerged from the tunnel just as the skater on the ice went into his final spin combination, with Yuri stripping off his Team Japan jacket and blade guards and handing both to Victor. As the competitor finished the gate was opened and Yuri took off, angling into crossovers as he flew around the ice for his last bit of warmup. He felt his body gathering, ready to put everything into the program, holding back with great effort from doing more than single jumps to get a feel for the ice. Somehow it no longer felt like he'd been away from competition for nearly a year, and as he raised his arms by way of presenting himself in tandem with the announcer's call of his name, the smile over his face was genuine as the welcoming roar of the crowd washed over him. As he circled into center ice he drew in a deep breath, murmuring “tadaima”* softly as he relaxed into his opening pose.

From the moment the first flourish of guitar strings filled the arena, Yuri felt the pent-up energy he'd gathered over the last several months beginning to simmer. His body felt more fluid, in tune with his emotions more than they'd ever been. He skidded to a stop to hit the dramatic pose before the first step sequence, the seductive snap of his head bringing his eyes to lock with Victor's – and in a moment where he completely forgot everything but the blue eyes narrowing in anticipation back at him, he winked before he sprang away with a grin.

“Oh boy, somebody's fired up!” Celestino laughed as Victor did also, the Russian's alabaster skin making the flush that had raced up from his neck to his cheeks that much more striking.

As Yuri ticked off each element with precision the crowd's ovations increased in kind, the confidence and sass in his presentation drawing every pair of eyes in the crowd to him regardless of who they were there to support. As he sailed into the second half of the program the adrenaline kicked in and he decided to switch out the planned quad toe loop for a quad flip, landing it with the cleanest edge he'd done thus far. His signature spread-eagle entrance into the triple Axel was welcomed with squeals and cheers from the Japanese fans especially, the height of his favorite jump increased with Victor's input helping him add lift to his takeoff.

As he approached the final combination jumping pass he weighed his options, making the split-second decision to change the jump on the end of it, tacking a double loop on after the quad Salchow rather than the planned toe loop and adding yet more difficulty. Both coaches recognized the difference between Yuri executing the change in the combination to cover an error and doing it intentionally, and Celestino's eyes widened as Victor's hands went to his cheeks in amazement to match his open-mouthed gasp. Katsuki finished the program with a tight, fast Level 4 spin combination, striking his final pose with an air of conquest: arms lashing around his body, head tossed back as if in ecstasy. The crowd exploded as he broke character to fistpump even as he gasped for air, the exertion of the difficult program catching up to him.

As he took his bows the volunteer opened the gate and Celestino and Victor stepped forward, with the former catching Yuri up in a hearty hug with an equally-robust slap on the back. “Yeahhhh baby! Just blow the roof off why don't ya?” he grinned, stepping back as Victor reached out to hug Yuri as well.

“How do you feel, Yuri?” Victor said into his ear as they embraced.

“Good,” Yuri purred back. “I hope everyone else feels just as good.”

“Well how can they not, after a performance like that?” Victor grinned, taking advantage of the traditional Russian air-kiss to place a half-kiss on Yuri's cheek before breaking the hug, after which the trio sat down in the Kiss and Cry. As expected Yuri was in the lead by a comfortable margin, with Otabek second and Yura Plisetsky in third.

After they headed backstage Yuri answered questions in the mixed zone before heading to the press conference while Victor stood nearby, listening in for any inappropriate questions as Celestino went over to accompany Otabek. After appraising the press line and seeing no one that could potentially cause an issue he stepped back a bit, feeling a light tap on his shoulder just as he crossed his arms over his chest in an attempt to cut an imposing figure.

“I can see you in Katsuki's improvements,” Lilia said, the tone holding an air of pride.

“I owed him that much,” Victor replied, “after all the crap he's taken because of me.”

“Fair enough,” Lilia agreed. “But for what it's worth, I've always seen you in his skating style. It's just that much more apparent now.”

Victor smiled softly. “There's a lot more to the story than everyone knows. But it's all making sense now.”

“I am sure there is,” she answered. “But just remember that you still have a part to play in it. You are not done yet, Vitya. I would see you skate again before you leave for good.”

“You will, but this time it will be my choice as to when,” Victor confirmed. And with that, Lilia gave his shoulder a squeeze before turning and meshing back into the bustling corridor, re-emerging near the press conference set to join Yura and Yakov.

The press conference went smoothly, with the requisite questions for Yuri about how he was feeling and for more details about the new “style change” of his short program, and the usual redundant questions for Otabek about his general improvement from the previous season. There was quite a bit of interest in Yura with it being his Senior debut and he answered the questions as best he could, remembering the advice Lilia had given him about dealing with the press.

Once the conference was over Yuri headed off to first to change then into the locker room to gather his things, still trying to come down from the adrenaline rush. As he zipped up his skate bag he heard the footsteps of someone coming up behind him, and for a moment his breath caught in his chest as past experiences with Georgi rushed back to his mind.

“I didn't get a chance to talk to you at all yet. Lilia didn't want me to until everything was over, but sometimes I don't listen to her.”

Yuri rose to upright and turned around, then found himself angling his head down just a bit to meet eyes with Yura Plisetsky, a smirk crossing his lips. “Is that why they've been calling you the Russian Punk?”

Yura snorted at that. “They say I need to check my attitude. I did and it's still there, so I don't know what the problem is.”

Yuri couldn't help but laugh at that. “Oh man. The press is gonna love you for sound bites.”

“Yeah, once I can get Lilia to stop making me be proper!”

Yuri laughed again while behind Yura Otabek came in, having overheard and cracking a smile as well. He then continued on to his locker as Leo and Phichit followed him into the room.

“Anyway, I gotta go before Lilia comes looking for me. But I wanted to meet you face to face before I knock you off the top of the podium tomorrow. We don't need two Yuris in Seniors,” Yura said with a wicked smirk. “Time to retire old man.”

Behind Yura, Phichit was about to step in and give the Russian Punk a piece of his mind when Yuri responded with yet more laughter. “Sorry, not gonna happen. Besides, you should have that discussion with Victor, he's older than me --”

“YURA!!! STOP YOUR FUCKING AROUND AND GET OUT HERE, IT'S TIME TO LEAVE!”

Every skater in the room jumped in unison at the bellowing voice suddenly hurling Russian words into the doorway of the locker room; Yuri watched as Yura's face darkened, brows knitting in anger.

“See you tomorrow. Be ready to bust out your quad Lutz, because it's the only way you'll beat me.” And with that, Yura turned with an air of reluctance and hurried out of the room, yelling “Yeah, yeah I'm coming calm your ass down!” in Russian as he disappeared out of the door. No one moved until Victor hurried in a few moments later, heaving a relieved sigh as he caught sight of Yuri.

“Was he yelling at you?” Victor asked as he came over to where Leo, Phichit and Otabek had grouped together in the event the situation had escalated.

“No. Yura came in to talk to me and he was screaming at him to leave,” Yuri said.

Victor shook his head then. “I'm really glad he's got Lilia as a buffer, because that did not sound good at all. That's even more rough than when I was that age.”

“He seems like a decent kid,” Beka said as everyone gathered their things. “Let's steal him and bring him to DSC.”

“Oh man, then we'd really all be marked men!” Leo said with a laugh as Celestino poked his head in to check on them.

“Shuttle leaves in five, let's go guys,” Celestino said, prompting everyone to follow him out into the corridor and to the back doors, where the shuttles were filling up quickly. Victor peered into the windows of both until he caught sight of Lilia sitting down with Yura in the second bus, Yakov directly behind them, at which he led everyone onto the first one.

“What did Yura want?” Victor asked Yuri once the bus had pulled out, heading back toward the hotel.

“I'm not entirely sure. He said he just wanted to talk, and then proceeded to tell me he's knocking me off the top of the podium tomorrow, and that I'd need my quad Lutz.”

Victor laughed at that. “Typical trash talk. He knows you're too far ahead after the short program. Unless he's got a full arsenal of quads, which I highly doubt, his best chance is for silver. But Beka was looking pretty strong tonight, so I think we've got a good look at our podium already to be honest.”

Yuri heard Phichit talking with Leo in the seat across the aisle from them, and turned to address his friend.

“I watched your short from backstage,” Yuri said. “It looked good. I'm glad you're finally using that music.”

Phichit seemed speechless for a moment, his reaction giving Victor a bit of a sad pang in his chest. “Oh, I didn't think you were gonna watch, you usually don't.”

“I promised I would, and I did,” Yuri replied; Leo was pretty sure there was a bit of hurt in Yuri's voice.

“Coach didn't want me to put in the Sal but I decided to anyway. It got downgraded because I underrotated by like... an eighth of a turn. I'm gonna nail it next time!”

Yuri smiled softly. “I bet you will. It was pretty damn close, nothing you can't fix.”

“I might try it again tomorrow, since this is just a warmup comp,” Phichit said. “If it doesn't work out, maybe we can work on it at home. Your Sals have always been on point whether they're triple or quad. Maybe you can help me fix it.”

“If you need it by then,” Yuri said. “Knowing you you'll nail it tomorrow as if you've been doing them since Novice.”

The pair continued to banter, with Phichit becoming more animated in his relating of his short program experience; by the time the bus pulled up to the hotel, Yuri had risen and followed Phichit off of the bus, his attention fixed on his friend as he grinned at Phichit's enthusiasm. Victor checked to make sure Yuri had grabbed all this things then followed Leo off of the bus, with Leo then slowing down to walk in with Victor.

“Well, it looks like those two are going to be okay,” Victor noted, relief in his tone.

“Yeah, Phichit's been feeling some kind of way. He'll be all right. I guess we just have to find him someone now.”

“What, you're not interested?” Victor teased, causing Leo to give him a playful shove and Otabek, who was following behind, to laugh out loud.

As the group approached the bank of elevators Yuri, Phichit, Leo and Otabek caught one, but it was full by the time Victor got to it when others cut in front of him. Instead he got on another with Celestino, a few more people boarding and crowding them to the back before, to both of their chagrin, Yakov boarded with Lilia and Yura. Victor crossed his fingers in his trenchcoat pockets, hoping they'd disembark before Celestino and him, but let out an exasperated sigh when the trio's floor turned out to be first. The pair of coaches looked at each other as the elevator came to a stop and with a mutual nod, decided to make their move.

“Excuse us!” Victor chirped in a very exaggerated, overly polite tone, grinning like a fool as he winnowed his way past two women who both caught a case of the giggles as he gave them a wink. Behind him Celestino excused himself in a much more reserved way, but flashed a no less winning smile.

And as the pair stepped out into the hallway, Victor could just make out Yakov's voice growling some choice Russian expletives. Celestino was startled when Victor whirled around to face his former coach, grinned brightly, and blew Yakov a kiss, prompting everyone in the elevator but the scowling Russian coach to burst into laughter as the doors thumped closed. Cialdini cracked up as well, then doubly so at Victor's innocent grin and shrug as they headed to their rooms.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Tadaima: Japanese for "I'm home".
> 
> As always, thank you for reading, commenting and for all the kudos both regular and via comments!


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The stumbling blocks end up being more prominent off the ice than on as relationships among the members of Team DSC begin to change.

“Skate Canada welcomes you to the final day of competition for the 2016 Autumn Classic International. Our final event today is the Men's Free Program. I would like to ask that the following skaters please take to the ice for your six-minute warmup: From Russia, Erik Demidov. From Japan, Hikaru Fujiwara. From China, Guang-Hong Ji. From Russia, Maksim Lobanov. From the Republic of Korea, Seung-Gil Lee. And from Thailand, Phichit Chulanont.”

Victor was about to settle in and appraise the first group of men during their warmup via one of the bigscreen monitors in the backstage area when the door to the changing room opened just off to his right. Yuri's face peered around the edge of the door, prompting him to grin.

“All right, I've been dying to see this costume since it didn't arrive in time for dress runthroughs,” Victor said. “Come out already!!”

Yuri laughed at Victor's excitement and stepped out... with his Team Japan jacket on and zipped.

“Yuuuuurrrrriiiiiiii, I want to see!” Victor laughed. “Why so secretive?”

“I don't know. I'm just really happy with it and I want the big unveil to be just before I start skating,” he said. “But it's safe to say it's the most sparkly costume I've ever had. The back feels a little bit heavy but my costumer put a nice soft lining in it. It should be okay.”

“It won't throw you off at all will it?” Victor asked as they walked over to the warmup area for Yuri to stretch his legs a bit more before lacing up.

“No, it's not that heavy. It's that thing where you notice it when you put it on at first, and then you'll get busy with skating and forget. Between now and the warmup in a bit, I'll get used to it. I'm going to do a few floor jumps to get acclimated too.”

“All right,” Victor said, reaching out to take Yuri's boots from him and stepping over to the side to watch. “Just go easy, you don't want to wear yourself out.”

Yuri nodded as he stood up out of a back stretch. “When does Phichit skate? He forgot to tell me and I forgot to look.”

“He's last in the first group.”

“We'll go out to the holding area as he's coming out then. I told him I'd try to watch so that works out. I can finish stretching out there for warmup.”

Victor nodded as Yuri turned to walk into the padded floor of the warmup area, first doing some visualizations of spins and jump rotations before he finally did a few triple Axels, his height and tight rotation even on “dry land” impressive. He then continued to pace and jog until a volunteer stepped over to let the skaters know there was 15 minutes to warmup, at which he sat down to begin the meditative process of lacing up his boots. Victor had come to learn that this was one of the times Yuri needed to be alone, so after making sure Katsuki didn't need anything he wandered back over to the monitor in time to see one of Korea's new rising stars, Seung-gil Lee, beginning his free program.

The 20-year-old was best known as being the first skater to land a fully-ratified quadruple loop in competition, and Victor found himself quite impressed when Lee landed a gorgeous one as his third jumping pass. The Korean had been the only skater able to land the jump for quite some time, but as per usual in the skating world when one skater hits such a milestone, others follow in kind and eventually both Yuri and Victor caught up to him. Unfortunately Lee ended up falling on his attempt at a quad loop-double toe combination set just after the halfway point in the program, an ambitious attempt that Victor was pretty sure even Yuri would be skeptical of trying.

Victor turned away from the monitors then as he saw Yuri stand up in his peripheral vision, stamping each foot into his boots and then walking around in the warmup area to settle into them, his earbuds still firmly in place. As he walked over to the wall to lean into it for back stretches Victor made note of how much time was left in Lee's program, and walked over to Yuri just as the Korean skater hit his ending pose.

“Seung-gil has just finished and Phichit's about to go out,” Victor said. Yuri nodded, his eyes showing the simmering competitive fire in them despite the change in his usual pre-competition routine. The pair walked up toward the exit to the rink, a volunteer pulling back the curtain and passing through just as Lee's marks were read. Yuri tuned them out, opting to keep his earbuds in until he saw Phichit raising his arms in response to his name being announced while circling around to center ice.

Victor's attention was divided between Phichit and Yuri as Chulanont skated, interested to see how watching his rink mate would affect Yuri. To his surprise Yuri's expression remained stoic as he paced and bounced in place, sometimes looking away from the ice as he walked through bits of his own program, visualizing them silently. The rest of the group of men began to file out at one minute left of Phichit's program and Victor moved closer to Yuri, protective instincts kicking in as he spotted Yakov emerging with Lilia and Yura. Yuri remained stoic as the crowd applauded for Phichit, and Victor could tell by his demeanor that he'd slipped into full competitive mode and quite possibly hadn't watched the last part of Phichit's program.

As the wait for the marks began Victor stepped up to Yuri carrying his water bottle and Makkachin tissue case, the latter a gift from Victor that he'd thought Yuri would laugh at but instead saw Katsuki making it his lucky charm. Turning to Victor and locking eyes with him, he caught one side of the collar of his jacket in his teeth and with a single swipe of his hand unzipped it, shrugging it off of his shoulders as one hand reached behind to pull it around his body and drape it over Victor's waiting arm. It took a moment for Victor to collect himself before he realized Yuri's costume was finally revealed.

The deep navy blue suit-like cut of the jacket accentuated Yuri's impossibly-tiny waist with a sheer mesh over nude illusion fabric cutout that wrapped around his waist from front to back, decorated with glittering crystals in the shape of fleur-de-lis type scrolls. A faux undershirt in a contrasting purple satin offset the lapels and shoulders that were dusted with iridescent crystals. But it was the back of the costume that made Victor break into a grin as Yuri turned around to lean on the boards to take off his hardguards. The crystals on the shoulders spread over his upper back down to the edge of the sheer portion at the waist; intersecting that and going down over the sheer area was a spectacular, intricate pattern of red and blue crystals in another scroll-like pattern, black stretch slacks completing the elegant and striking look.

“This costume was a perfect choice,” Victor smiled as he took Yuri's hardguards in hand. “You look absolutely stunning.” He paused as Phichit's marks were read, at which Otabek stepped up just to the side of Yuri white the volunteer prepared to open the door to the ice in his own elegant light blue and white costume with its own liberal sprinkling of gems. Beka again turned to his rink mate and offered a handshake for luck which Yuri returned; they both acknowledged Victor's nod, smile and wink as the gate was opened.

“I would now like to invite the final group of men to take to the ice for your six-minute warmup: From the United States, Leo de la Iglesia. From China, Cao Bin. From Canada, Jean-Jacques Leroy. From Russia, Yuri Plisetsky. From Kazakhstan, Otabek Altin. And from Japan, Yuri Katsuki.”

As the skaters spilled out onto the ice Victor nodded to Celestino, the coach stopping beside him with Rowan a bit away. Despite Phichit having landed a shaky but fully-rotated quad Salchow in the short, Leo's presentation scores had put him just slightly ahead enough that he was sixth going into the free skate. It was the first time he'd made it to the final group of any competition, a new milestone for the US skater despite not having a quad. The two men watched as all three skaters from Team DSC fell into their warmup routines, each graduating up from singles to their highest-level jumps. Victor made note of JJ remaining reserved this time, mostly keeping to himself and on the other side of the rink from Yuri, who continued to get the loudest response each time he landed a jump. Almost as if the trio were on the same wavelength they all opted, unplanned, to head over to the boards for feedback together.

“How are you feeling?” Celestino asked Yuri as he sipped from his water bottle. “You look nice and focused. I'm sorry I was late getting to you, the draw wasn't kind to us so I'm glad Victor was here to cover while I sat with Phichit.”

Yuri nodded in response. “I know, it's fine. I'm good. I feel really relaxed today now that I've gotten past the short program and the first-time nerves.”

“What nerves?” Otabek smirked. “I didn't see any.”

“I was in stealth mode,” Yuri shot back with his own smirk.

“All right, let's settle in here,” Celestino said, with both men's attentions focusing on him; Rowan also followed Leo over to the head coach. “I don't think I have a lot to add. Remember, this is a warmup competition. You don't have to go all-out if you don't want to, and it's not worth taking any crazy risks. Leo, you've already hit a milestone, and I just want you to skate clean and play up your strengths. We know your presentation can take you far, so just go for a personal best today.” Leo nodded and smiled; Otabek reached over and extended a hand for a shake as Yuri nodded in agreement before Leo headed back out for a few more jumping passes.

“Beka, your quad toe and Sal are pretty solid, so if you want to go for those I'll leave that call to you. I think you've got silver on lock, but let's not get too confident with that. Plisetsky's probably got some tricks up his sleeve and he's got nothing to lose, so keep that in mind.” Beka nodded and with a thumbs up, went out to resume warmup.

“Yuri, this competition looks like it's yours for the taking, but let's not get too confident either. I know you're feeling good, but like I said yesterday, if anything feels off to you, heed that. This is not the ice to splat on and take an injury for no good reason. I know you're in the zone, but keep yourself level.” Yuri nodded and headed back out, checking the time left and finding two minutes remaining.

“I like to give them their mindset for the whole competition with warmup sometimes,” Celestino said to Victor. “Especially with a comp like this. The field is pretty impressive and sometimes the drive to kick ass out of the gate can take over. This isn't the time for the big guns yet, and warming up with the correct mindset is key.”

“It's a good strategy,” Victor agreed. “I never realized how exhausting the emphasis on always being 1000 percent was until I allowed myself to let go of it.”

“Speaking of,” Celestino replied as Yuri Plisetski landed his fourth quad jump in the second half of the warmup, “How's our competition looking?”

Victor had been making mental notes of Plisetsky's warmup in anticipation of Celestino asking just that question. “I think he's likely knocking off the quads at Yakov's insistence, which isn't a wise move. He's not used to a Senior-level free program yet and he's risking leaving some of it in the warmup. I'm sure Yakov wants him to overtake Beka at the very least, but I think Yura will falter a bit either from fatigue or inexperience. But we shouldn't rely on that either, because 15 year olds can be pretty resilient.”

“I can just barely remember being that young,” Celestino smirked as the one-minute warning was called. “And with nothing to lose really, there's a chance he'll push and go for broke, and it will either work or he'll crash and burn.”

“I don't think he'll be a total disaster, but I can see him maybe running out of steam a bit. That said, we definitely shouldn't underestimate him.”

As the warmup concluded and the skaters moved toward the gate Yuri and Beka flanked Leo, each offering a few words of encouragement and a pat on the shoulder before he veered off to meet Rowan and Celestino at the boards for last words before his performance. As he followed behind Yura watched the obvious camaraderie, noting silently to himself that even if he were on the ice with Georgi right now, nothing like that would likely have happened between them. It was the pair's interaction slowing them down just a bit that caused Yura to get to the gate ahead of them and he found himself accidentally looking up into the face of Victor Nikiforov, who offered an encouraging smile as he awaited the two DSC skaters with their gear in hand. Before Yura could react Lilia came into his view and he blinked to clear his head before taking his guards from her, slipping them on quickly and moving out of the way as JJ hurried by.

Victor handed Beka and Yuri their hardguards then followed them backstage, opting to hang back and leave the pair to their own mental preparations. Both men chose to remain laced up, team jackets over their costumes and earbuds in to tune out the competition as it resumed with Leo's skate. Victor felt eyes on him and knew mostly likely whose they were, but tried not to let it get to him as he looked after the two skaters who would be fully in his care until Celestino was freed up. He watched Leo's performance on the monitor with the same admiration he'd done so at the rink in Detroit. Leo had not been shy about confessing that he looked up to Victor and had begun to choreograph his own programs because Nikiforov had done so. In turn Victor had offered advice about program composition, and he made note of a few small changes he'd suggested that Leo had used as he watched.

Once Leo finished Victor turned back to the warmup area to find Yuri once again leaning into the wall to stretch his back and keep his hip flexors open, and Beka just sitting down after stretching his legs a bit more to keep them warmed up. He also found Yura pacing in his own skates while somewhat obviously trying to steal glances at Yuri. At the same moment Beka also noticed, his brow knitting in curiosity for a few moments before drawing within to his own preparations again. Victor was about to turn back to the video screen when he felt a pat on his shoulder and turned to see Celestino there.

“Okay, I'm back,” Cialdini smiled. “I could probably be letting the guys' other coaches sit with them, but it's the first competition of the season. I like them to know where they stand and not to feel left out.”

“Understandable,” Victor nodded. “Not much is happening here anyway, they're just keeping to themselves right now. Although Yuri seems different today for some reason. I don't know that I've ever seen him this much at ease.”

“It's good to see, honestly,” Celestino replied. “He needed this competition to get his ice legs back. Coming back from an injury like that is tough and now he knows he's just fine again. It's probably relief over everything else, whether he realizes it or not.”

Victor was about to reply when he saw Lilia walking through the warmup area to get Yura, as JJ had just begun his free program and Plisetsky was next to skate. Beka looked up momentarily, glanced at the monitor, and stood up to begin pacing to wake up his legs. In turn Yuri looked around a bit as well and once he'd gauged his own time, opted to close his eyes again and relax for a little longer.

“How are you feeling being in this atmosphere again? Where's your head as far as competition?” Celestino asked Victor.

Victor was silent for nearly a minute before he replied. “Honestly, right now I'm content. I'm glad I was able to help with everyone today, I've really enjoyed it. I haven't really gotten as far as deciding if I'll stay out this whole season or do the second half. I feel like it's a sign that I still need to relax. If I come back before I'm ready to I'll just likely end up feeling the same about it, which is that I wasn't ready.”

“Fair enough,” Celestino nodded as he made note of the monitor, where JJ was finishing his program. “And on that note, I gotta go get Otabek.” Victor nodded as the coach rose from his seat with Beka already making his way over to join him, after which they took their leave toward the exit to the ice.

Yuri looked up and watched them go, his eyes then focusing on the screen where, while JJ waited for his marks, the cameras were switching to Yura doing his last few warmup laps. Victor's eyebrows raised as Yuri removed his earbuds and rose, walking over to the monitor as he began doing some upper arm and shoulder stretches. Rather than ask Yuri why he'd decided to watch, Victor walked over and stood with him to do so as well.

Yura wasn't completely thrilled with the classical music Yakov had chosen for him, but Lilia was familiar with it and had been willing to collaborate on choreography ideas with him, so it still had at least some of his stamp on it. They'd designed the costume together as well and she'd taken great pride in the double braids she'd done his hair in. He felt confident enough and began the program quite strong, with a quad toe loop and a quad Salchow. His adrenaline began to flow however and his resulting triple loop suffered from a messy landing which he barely hung on to, hand coming within inches of the ice – to touch it would incur a downgrade on the jump on top of the negative GOE that he knew he'd get for it. He tried to calm his mind further but found his concentration had been broken by rushing into the first two jumps. As the quieter choreographic section began he was able to settle down and catch his breath, mentally preparing for the heavily-loaded second half of the program, where Yura himself had insisted all of the combinations should go. Both Yakov and Lilia had argued against it, but he had done many combinations in a row in practice. How hard could it be?

“Why on Earth would Yakov allow three combinations in the second half, especially one with a quad?” Victor said as he watched Yura fall on the first jump of the quad toe loop-triple toe loop, costing him the entire point value of the combination when he wasn't able to complete it. He then went on to double both jumps in the triple Axel-triple toe, then after a standalone triple loop was able to regroup enough to manage a triple Lutz with a single toe loop on the end to get credit for at least one combination pass.

“He's still got a Junior mindset, that he can jump forever. But Senior programs are 20 seconds longer and that's a lot when you're not used to it. I think the layout will be changed by his first Grand Prix event,” Yuri said, his tone quiet but even. Victor looked over to see that Yuri had, after sizing up his competition, begun to slip into competitive mode, his eyes already a bit darker with the drive to get out there.

“I knew he'd run out of gas by the end but not that badly,” Victor said. “My thought is that he likely insisted on that layout and Yakov let him have it to teach him a lesson.”

A smirk crossed Yuri's lips then. “You seem to know the tactic well.”

Victor felt the flush spread over his face. “Well... we were all insolent Juniors once weren't we?” he grinned.

Yuri turned to him then as Yura ended his program, the cameras zooming in on Plisetsky's winded, flushed face as he bent over to catch his breath. “Some of us listened to our coaches, possibly a bit too much. I wish I'd have had his drive and confidence back then. But I have it now. He'd do well to watch closely.” Victor's eyebrows raised at that, the competitive spark in Yuri's eyes igniting as he watched. “Anyway. Let's go out rinkside, I want to watch Beka.” And with that Yuri began to walk away, leaving Victor to catch up with him as they headed to the ice.

Lilia draped Yura's jacket over his shoulders as he came off the ice, still working on catching his breath. Her intent was to talk with Yura later about why his choices for the program hadn't worked and how they would change it, as it should be done. But Yakov had walked away to the Kiss and Cry as soon as Yura had struck his ending pose and as the pair sat down next to him, she knew that she was about to take a trip back in time to her ex-husband's treatment of another young, inexperienced skater who had also tried to be himself and push his own limits from day one.

“So. Now. Are you happy you did it your way? You should have listened to me. I told you that it wasn't worth trying the combinations in the second half just for the extra points. You can add a jump onto one if you need to but being a showoff gets you nothing. You had a lock on bronze, now you'll be lucky if you're in the top five. From now on you're going to follow the layouts I give you! You're not going to keep going off on your own and fucking up till you figure it out!” Yakov growled, disregarding the fact that there were cameras and microphones present. Lilia inwardly hoped the sound people had turned them off when Yakov had begun his tirade. She looked over at Yura, who was still gasping a bit, shoulders heaving and staring down at his boots while Yakov barked on. _He does have to learn these things for himself, but screaming at him will only make him strive to defy you more, to prove you wrong. Do not plant the same seeds again, because the soil has already been depleted from the first time._

Victor looked up to see that the mistakes had indeed been costly, with Yura dropping to fourth below JJ who, despite a few stumbles had received full credit for all of his jumps except for his attempt at a quad loop, which he'd landed on two feet. All Beka and Yuri had to do now was skate clean and both would stay in their current rankings, winning silver and gold respectively. Yuri was pacing and bouncing, windmilling his arms and doing a few lunges to stretch his quad and glute muscles, then returned to bouncing in place as Beka began his performance.

Though Celestino had reminded all of his skaters that the competition wasn't one they should worry too much about, Beka still intended to give his performance 100 percent. He was confident in the layout of his program and after getting his feet under him with an effortless triple Axel, he executed a quad Salchow with equal ease. Victor noticed Yuri nod as the edge on the landing was very obviously clean; it was something that Beka had worked very hard on all summer as his accuracy due to small tweaks in technique had been less than he'd have preferred. Otabek's presence on the ice rivaled Yuri's, his posture perfect and carriage elegant. Altin landed his final jumping pass clean, the crowd heartily applauding the triple Axel-triple toe loop as he went into his final spin sequence.

Yuri began to windmill his arms again then leaned down to touch his toes by way of stretching his back one last time as the volunteer made her way over to the gate to open it as soon as Beka was finished. As the Kazakh skater hit his ending pose Victor applauded and was also happy to see Yuri doing so as well for a few moments before stripping off his Team Japan jacket. Victor stepped forward then, taking the jacket and then Yuri's hardguards, and Katsuki took off out of the gate before it was even fully open.

Victor knew Celestino would sit with Beka until his marks were read, which meant he would be responsible for the last words Yuri would carry with him to the ice. As the wait for the marks continued he watched Yuri glide into deep edges then up into a few single jumps to test out the feel of the ice before he circled around and headed toward Victor at the boards, T-stopping and grabbing his water for a final drink.

“I'm not as good with motivational words as Celestino,” Victor said. “But I know what you're capable of technically and so do you. I know how much work you've put into this program, and the love within it as well. All I can say to you is to not be afraid to open your heart and show it to the world. You will have to be both vulnerable and strong and that can be difficult. But I believe in you.”

Yuri smiled softly as Victor laid his hands over Yuri's to give them a squeeze. “We made this program together... on and off the ice. I'm ready to show my love to the whole world.” Before Victor could comprehend what the wink Yuri gave him meant the skater turned and made his way out to center ice at the sound of the announcer's introduction. Just as Yuri struck his opening pose Celestino stepped up next to Victor, too focused on his student to notice Victor's flushed cheeks.

The staccato piano music started and Yuri felt it wrap around him as he began his story. The initial choreography spoke of how he had felt lost after the disaster of the 2015 Grand Prix Final, his path forward clouded by uncertainty regarding how much the injury would affect him. The crowd gasped at the perfect timing of the high piano note as it accentuated his opening jump, a quad toe loop that looked ridiculously easy, the landing light with gorgeous runout into a twizzle. After a triple loop to regroup – a suggestion from Victor that Yuri had found worked quite well – the footwork into the quad Salchow still challenged him slightly and he fought just for a moment on the landing. He was quickly back to form with a succession of connecting steps that led into the choreographic sequence that he had created through improvisation just two weeks earlier.

“Yes,” Victor murmured, prompting Celestino to lean in a bit to hear his words. “This is where you shine. Make it so beautiful they can't take their eyes off of you.” Celestino was sure the entire arena could hear Victor speak, as it had fallen to silence at the balletic grace Yuri floated over the ice with. Katsuki expressed his reaction to beginning to feel a “deeper love” for the first time with a joy in the meandering footwork as he danced over the ice. The sequence flowed seamlessly into a forward-outside Ina Bauer which then connected to his trademark spread-eagle entrance into a triple Axel-triple toe loop combination that marked the end of the first half of the program. The crowd remained entranced through a spin sequence filled with beautiful positions, Yuri's body making shapes that even made one of the judges lean forward, peering over his computer screen to get a better look.

As the final part of the story unfolded the music began to build with the first of two combinations Victor had planned for after the halfway mark. After some issues post-injury with the edge of his Lutz, both Celestino and Victor were pleased to see the clean outside-edge takeoff, the jump connected to a triple toe loop that had nearly as much height as the Lutz. The final circular footwork sequence ended with a triple Axel that made the crowd gasp as it seemed to come out of nowhere, the entrance meshed into the intricate turns that Yuri himself had choreographed, the entire section representing his joy over his love being returned.

Victor saw Celestino grip the edge of the boards then as the final two jumping passes approached. “He's getting wound up by the music. If he's too tight he might miss this...” The coach never finished his thought as Yuri landed another quad Salchow; it had been intended as a combination with a double or triple toe loop. But Victor saw the telltale sign of fatigue on Yuri's part as, with the combination being landed right in front of them, he could clearly see Yuri's free leg wrapped just a bit too tightly on the landing of the first jump, which he changed to a double loop in response to save the combination. The final jump had been tentatively planned as a quad flip, but both men could tell Yuri made the last-second decision to triple it as opposed to missing the quad due to the takeoff being just a bit slower than normal, showing that Katsuki was losing just a tiny bit of steam. The moment passed however as he finished with his last spin sequence in perfect time to the spiraling piano as it slowed down. Yuri rose up to full height, crossing one leg behind him and bracing the toepick on the ice, left arm extending toward Victor at the boards as a single piano note brought the program to an end.

As Yuri held his pose for the five seconds Celestino had always insisted on he realized that no one had yet even begun to cheer. He almost wished he could see the faces in the crowd which were blurred without his glasses, but as soon as he broke the pose the room erupted into a nearly-deafening roar, quite the feat for a comparatively small crowd size. Over at the boards both Celestino and Victor had realized they'd been holding their breaths and exhaled as the crowd began to respond.

“First competition of the year, and the kid just laid down a fucking masterpiece,” Celestino said. “He's on another level already. Just when I think he can't get better...”

Victor grinned, applauding as the pair headed over to the gate when Yuri began to skate in from center ice. “At least we know all the media that doubted his return will be eating crow for dinner.”

Celestino burst into laughter at that. “Goddamn right they will! I --”

The coach's thought was cut off when he turned to see Victor, grinning like Yuri had just hung the moon, standing at the gate with arms wide open with Katsuki skating into Nikiforov's waiting arms. The pair hugged tightly, Victor's hand coming up to ruffle Yuri's hair before they broke the embrace after which Yuri stepped off the ice, pausing to turn around and offer his customary bow to it before he leaned in to accept Celestino's hug.

“I told you to tone it down, how are you gonna top this one?” Celestino laughed as he gave Yuri's back a hearty pat.

“I don't know what hit me... it just... it just happened. I hope I can pull it off again,” Yuri said as they headed to the Kiss and Cry. “There's just something about this music that puts me right into the feeling I need.”

“It was magical,” Victor smiled as they sat down, noting the buzz of the crowd. “They're all still talking about it out there!”

The trio watched the replays of Yuri's elements as they waited for the marks, with Yuri noting that they showed the double loop on the end of the quad Salchow-double loop combination from a few different angles in slow motion. “I bet they're reviewing my edge,” Yuri said. “I started getting a little winded and my free leg got lazy again, so I had to cover.”

Victor peered at the third replay of the jump. “It looks clean. I think they might be confused because the jump was changed, so they're debating the edge.”

“There was no toepick on the second jump though, so they can't be trying to tell if it's a toe loop,” Celestino noted. “I'm thinking they're questioning the takeoff because you bobbled on the landing of the Sal just enough that they might be trying to figure out if you just pulled off a Sal-Sal!”

“Oh come on that's just nuts, nobody can do that!” Yuri laughed. “If anything I might have been on the flat of the blade, but I don't think I was.”

Finally the marks were announced and as expected, Yuri's program set a new Personal Best score, though not quite high enough for a World Record. Victor nodded affirmatively as he noted there were no deductions or downgrades; he looked forward to reviewing the final protocols to see what they'd ruled on the combination in question. Yuri was asked to remain at rinkside for the medal ceremony, with Hisashi Morooka rushing down to grab the first interview with the 2016 Autumn Classic International gold medalist. The volunteers scrambled to locate the silver medalist, Otabek and bronze medalist JJ, who ended up bumping Yura off the podium by just a bit more than five points due to Yura's mistakes in the free.

After the ceremony ended the medalists returned backstage to prepare for the press conference, with Yuri opting for a quick change out of his costume into training gear and sneakers, the latter most welcome as he was on the tail end of breaking in new boots. He stepped out of the changing room and looked around for Victor or Celestino and at the moment saw neither of them in view, so he began to weave his way through the crowded hallway toward the room designated for the conference. Just as he got to the doorway he caught a flash of Victor's silver hair through the cluster of people already in the room and was about to go inside when he felt a light tap on his shoulder; upon turning he found himself face to face with Lilia Baranovskaya, and offered a polite bow of his head in acknowledgment.

“I wanted to congratulate you,” she began; Yuri felt a slight pang of nervousness as he wasn't exactly sure what to expect next. “This is the first time I have seen you skate in person, and I can see now what the rest of the world sees. Your balletic skills are impeccable, you move as if you are made of music.”

Yuri bowed his head again in gratitude. “Spasiba... I owe much to my teacher, Okukawa Minako.”

Lilia's brows raised at that. “Oh, yes... I am quite familiar with her work, though I was never able to see her perform live. How is it that you came to learn from her?”

“She is from Hasetsu, where I am from. She and my mother attended the same college, though my mother is two years younger. They remained friends and she is close with our family, and she encouraged my parents to get me into figure skating when I showed promise.”

“She was clearly smart to do so,” Lilia nodded. “Please send her my regards.”

“I will,” Yuri nodded.

“I look forward to Rostelecom,” Lilia added. “I expect it to be quite a challenging competition.”

Yuri was about to respond when he felt another hand on his shoulder, this time Victor's.

“They're ready to start the press conference,” Victor said.

“All right, I just need to --” Yuri had turned to say goodbye to Lilia, but she had disappeared into the various people milling about in the corridor.

“What did she say to you?” Victor asked, concern in his tone as they walked into the room.

“Nothing really. Congratulated me and asked where I learned ballet. She knows who Minako is. And that she's looking forward to Rostelecom.”

“Mhm, I'm sure she is. They'll have Yura jumping every quad possible by then if Yakov has any say. And Georgi's going to be there too. But anyway, let's get this out of the way so we can get some dinner. If I'm starving, I'm sure you are too.”

Yuri smirked at that. “Yeah I am. Let's hope this one goes better than Media Day.”

Victor laughed at that. “ _Anything_ will go better than Media Day!”

  
  


  
  


The press conference ended up being filled with the usual questions, the focus a bit more on the bronze medalist JJ as the majority of the media in the room were from Canada. It was fine by Yuri and Beka, who were both more than happy to not have to answer the same variation of “how are you feeling?” or “what's it like to be back in competition after the injury?” too many more times over.

The men of Team DSC were packing up in the locker room and discussing everyone's placements – Phichit had moved up to sixth, just barely edging Leo to seventh due to having a higher technical difficulty – when Yuri ducked into the men's room before the start of their ride to the airport. He was about to leave when reflected in the mirror in front of him he saw Yura coming in, appearing to look for someone who turned out to be Yuri.

“You need to just let Celestino be your coach,” Yura said, apparently not fond of pleasantries at the moment. “You're starting to look like a ripoff of Victor.”

“Did your coach tell you to say that?” Yuri smirked, more amused when Yura blinked in surprise, taken aback by the response.

“No, I'm just saying. It's one thing to use his choreography but your style is looking a lot more like his now. Even Lilia noticed it.”

“I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing,” Yuri replied, a bit confused. “I've looked up to Victor since I was in Juniors. If you're talking about my long program, he and I worked on it together.”

“The thing is, Russian media is already coming for you on it. If you don't fix it by Rostelecom they're going to go at you hard. They're saying Victor is turning you into him so he can quit. Watch the videos back when you can, you're gonna want to modify or put your own stamp on the long or you will have that to deal with. Lilia tried to tell Victor about it yesterday but I don't think he caught on.”

Yuri nodded as Plisetsky made the point of his conversation more clear. “All right... I'll talk with Coach C and Victor about it. Though I'm really happy with what we've done so I don't know how much I can change it, or if I even want to.”

“You still got time. Just trust me on this. Because there's some people who are going to use it as a sticking point.” Yura let out an exasperated sigh as he looked down at his phone when a text tone went off. “I gotta go. Just... watch your back, especially at Rostelecom.” And with that, Yura turned and hurried out of the room.

Yuri stood there for a few moments, still a bit perplexed as he processed the information when the squeak of the door that led to the men's locker room on the other side of the bank of stalls opened, with Victor's face appearing.

“Ah, there you are. We're ready to leave. Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, yeah, coming,” Yuri said as he hurried over.

“You sure? You look a bit out of sorts.”

“I'll tell you later. It's not bad... at least, I don't think it is. But I want to wait till we're alone to talk about it.”

“Phichit said he just saw Yura come out of there from the other door,” Victor noted as he helped Yuri shoulder on his backpack. “He wasn't bothering you was he?”

Yuri sighed, realizing the connection had been made. “No, not really. But like I said, I want to talk with you later when we're alone about what he said. You might understand what he meant better than me.”

  
  


  
  


With no exhibition gala or banquet for Challenger competitions, the event ending on Saturday afternoon and the flight not being that long, Celestino had opted for everyone to fly home that evening so they would have Sunday to rest. Yuri had opted to stay in the apartment with Phichit when they did get home, having put the conversation with Yura to the back of his mind until he and Victor could spend time together the next day.

At the forefront of his mind though was the strange air between himself and Phichit. After his attempt to reconnect with his friend on the bus after the short program the tension had eased some, but the sense that something was different was still there. Once he'd unpacked and gotten settled in Yuri emerged from his room to find Phichit on the sofa in the living room texting with someone on his phone. Yuri sat down next to him, noticing that the TV wasn't on, and scrolled through his own phone for a few minutes as he collected his thoughts.

“You're not going to Victor's tonight?” Phichit asked, breaking the silence before Yuri was quite ready to.

“No, we're going to hang out tomorrow for a little bit. We were around each other so much the last few days we both needed a break to get out of competition mode,” Yuri replied.

There was another extended silence as Phichit switched to scrolling through Instagram that brought Yuri to finally realize there was no way around any impending conflict about to happen.

“So why exactly are you upset with me?” Yuri asked.

Phichit blinked as he looked up from his phone, seeming thrown by Yuri's question. “I... I don't even really know,” he answered. “I guess I just got used to it being you and me.”

“It still is,” Yuri said. “Or at least, that's what I thought.”

“It is!” Phichit said. “I just... I can't really explain it. I don't know what to call it.”

“You wanted me to get together with Victor, and then you got weird as soon as I did, so I'm just... confused now, I guess.”

“I... just... you don't talk about him too much, I guess I thought you would. You talk less about him now than when we met.”

“It's different than that now Phichit. I'm not just fanboying anymore. He's a real person, and we ended up connecting like real people do. Nothing's really happened between us yet other than hanging out. We... we cuddle. But... even that seems too private to talk about to someone. It's not like practice or at a competition where interactions are out in the open anyway. I just feel like... I'm getting to see a side of him that no one else does. He doesn't show that side to the world for a reason, and I'm not going to make him not trust me by blabbing about it to everyone.”

Phichit was quiet for a bit as he mulled over his own thoughts. “I guess... we've just always talked about everything...”

“And you still can talk to me about anything. But you're not going to understand this until you're with someone yourself someday. There's... it's just different. If I need to talk something out I will, but what's between him and me is private.”

Phichit was quiet for a bit again, then finally nodded. “Okay... fine. I won't ask about it anymore.”

Yuri knew that would be the best resolution they would come to on the subject. “All right. Thanks.” Another silence followed where Phichit only nodded in response as he returned to scrolling through Instagram. “Anyway... I have to knock off an essay that's due Monday, I'll be in my room if you need me.”

Phichit nodded again and watched Yuri head to his room, closing the door as he always did when he needed privacy. He then looked down at his phone to find a message from Chris, and smiled as he opened it.

**Chris:** Congratulations on sixth place, Cheri. That's pretty impressive considering the field you were up against.

**Phichit:** Thanks. I feel pretty good about it. I was surprised Leo ended up lower than me though, that was weird.

**Chris:** They probably expected at least one quad in the free and decided his components weren't enough for him to ride on. It's their way of telling him what he needs to do. I've seen it happen for quite a while. You just have to get used to judge language.

**Phichit:** I guess so.

**Chris:** You don't seem like your usual self. What's going on? You even had a sourpuss in the footage I saw from ACI.

**Phichit:** I guess I'm just getting used to things being different here with me and Yuri.

**Chris:** How's that? Did something happen?

**Phichit:** He's just kinda... not as talkative now that he's been seeing Victor. He got mad at me and Leo when we kept asking stuff.

**Chris:** Cheri, even best friends have boundaries. I might yank Victor's chains about such things, but even I know he probably won't talk about anything more than surface stuff about Yuri. It's one thing to joke around about getting laid and such, but when it gets to where it might actually start happening, well, that's no one's business but theirs.

**Phichit:** So Victor has told you to back off too?

**Chris:** He didn't have to. I know what friends are like when they get into relationships. He and I are like brothers, but it gets to the point of being creepy if you try to live vicariously through your BFF by wanting to know all the details. As much as we want to know how things are going, we have to follow their leads and their boundaries. If you don't, then things just get weird and then poof, friendship gone. And I'm sure you don't want that. Just let Yuri settle into things a bit, and everyone will adjust. That includes posting anything about them on social media. Keep out of their way until they tell you otherwise.

**Phichit:** I guess I'm just used to not really having to worry about this with him, or any of my friends really.

**Chris:** How many of your friends got into relationships before now?

**Phichit:** Well, none... I was just 15 when I left Thailand to come here. I had school friends and we kinda weren't to that point yet. Yuri's the first one.

**Chris:** Well that explains everything. You'll get over the jealousy, it's just a roadbump if you let it be that. But make more of it till it becomes a mountain, and it will come between the two of you and cause a rift that maybe can't be fixed.

**Phichit:** I'm not jealous what are you talking about???

**Chris:** Mhm. That's what they all say, Cheri. 😉 Just get used to sharing Yuri, and everything will be fine.

**Phichit:** Okay. Anyway it's late here, I'm gonna go to bed. TTYL.

On the other end of the conversation, Chris had already been giggling as he read Phichit's replies, switching over to a different text conversation with a knowing smirk when Phichit signed off.

**Chris:** It is as I suspected. He didn't admit it outright but I can tell by the way he answered.

**Victor:** I had a feeling that's what it was about. I kind of feel kind of bad about it.

**Chris:** If it's just about sharing his BFF with a new love interest, it will even out in time. Don't worry about it.

**Victor:** But what if it's more than that? It's bad enough this is causing conflict between them. If Phichit's feelings were about more than friendship, it could screw things up a lot more.

**Chris:** Would you give up your chance with Yuri for that? After all, Yuri has chosen you, so it's obvious he doesn't feel that way about Phichit.

It took a few minutes for Victor to reply.

**Victor:** No. I almost had a panic attack thinking about it just now.

**Chris:** Then let Phichit iron it out on his own. You have grown up being conditioned to keep everyone else in the world happy. It's time to worry about keeping yourself happy, darling. I was where Phichit is now when you and I figured out where we stood with each other. They'll figure it all out too. Just be there for Yuri, and Phichit will come around eventually, if he's as much of a friend to Yuri as it seems. And just like you and I healed, they will too.

**Victor:** I know, I know. You're right.

**Chris:** I always am 😘

  
  


  
  


“I swear, I never cared about shopping outside of when I absolutely needed something. I don't think my stance is going to change even after today.”

Victor had to laugh at Yuri's statement as they rode back to Victor's apartment after their Sunday out. The pair had taken in an early movie, then dinner and finally some shopping that had resulted in quite a bit to carry, which prompted Victor calling a taxi rather than lugging it all home on the bus.

“But it's fun to refresh the wardrobe. You have to wear more than t-shirts and track pants or you'll feel like you're at the rink all the time,” Victor said as the cab pulled into the apartment complex grounds, with Yuri telling the driver to stop at the entrance to his building.

“I suppose. But it's not like I do a lot when I'm not at the rink that warrants dressing up!” he laughed as he got out, going around the back to grab his bags out of the trunk.

“Do you want help?” Victor asked.

“No, I'll just be a few minutes. I got my stuff together to bring for the morning before we left today.” And with that Yuri hurried into the building, catching one of the elevators up to his floor. He opened the door to find the place empty and turning dark without any lights left on, so he flipped the switch on the wall to turn on one of the living room lamps.

“Phichit? You here?” he called as he gathered everything to put in his room, knowing that sometimes his roommate got caught up in his online adventures or gaming in his own room and would sometimes forget the lights. His brow furrowed at the lack of response and once he'd dragged his other set of bags out to the door he checked around the apartment to confirm his friend wasn't there. Having not received a text as to his whereabouts as per the pair's longstanding agreement, he fired off a quick “where are you?” to Phichit before he gathered all his things and locked up, leaving the light on as they always had for each other. He didn't pay attention to his phone again until he was upstairs in Victor's apartment, sitting down on the sofa with a heavy sigh as Victor took Makka for a quick walk and frowning when he saw the text had been read, but not answered.

**Yuri:** Hey, everything ok? I stopped by the apartment to drop some stuff off and grab my gear for the morning. I'm going to stay over at Victor's tonight and we'll go to the rink from there.

It took a few moments after the text came up read again before the ellipsis denoting a forthcoming response appeared.

**Phichit:** Yeah, I'm hanging with Leo. Beka went to watch the hockey games at the rink because his friends are playing so we're playing WoW.

**Yuri:** Okay cool. You can always pick it up on my gaming tower in the living room if Beka comes home and wants to chill. The password to log into it is the same. I'll see you in the morning.

**Phichit:** Ok.

Yuri paused at the uncharacteristically short reply, unsure how to respond. As he heard Victor returning, he replied to finish the conversation.

**Yuri:** Well, gnite then. I left the light on for you.

**Phichit: Read** 7:23 PM

Yuri's brow furrowed at the reply and he sighed, setting his phone down on the coffee table as Victor returned. Makka came trotting into the room and hopped up into Yuri's lap, making him laugh even as he groaned dramatically.

“Makka you are not a lap dog as much as you want to think you are!” Yuri said as he ruffled the furry puff on the top of the dog's head.

“I don't think he realizes how big he is,” Victor grinned from the kitchen where he was setting out Makka's food bowl, prompting the dog to use Yuri as a springboard when he heard the kibble pouring into it.

“Ooof! That came way too close to vital parts dog,” Yuri faux-snarked.

Victor laughed again as he came into the living room, flopping down next to Yuri and wrapping an arm around the other man's shoulders while Yuri laid his head back against the couch cushions. As he tried to push the texts with Phichit to the back of his mind he felt the sudden need for comfort and impulsively turned into Victor's chest, cuddling to him and laying his head on the Russian's shoulder with a sigh. Victor responded by drawing him in closer.

“What's wrong Yuri?”

“I wouldn't say anything's wrong... just... Phichit's having a little trouble adjusting to things I think. And I don't know what to do about it.”

“Adjusting?”

“I think he just got spoiled having me all to himself. We've been each other's support system since we both moved here at about the same time. Coach even arranged to have us room together because we were kind of in a similar situation with the whole culture shock thing. We both knew a fair amount of English so we could communicate and we've just been always together ever since. He's got Leo to hang out with now which is good but... I just wish he wasn't taking it so hard.”

“Listen. You've grown up worrying about pleasing everyone around you right? With school, with skating...”

“With everything really. My parents weren't totally on board with my skating at first. They were pretty adamant about me getting an education as a backup plan so I agreed to go to university while I'm here, which started to get more difficult as we got closer to the Olympic season. They weren't happy about me deferring, so that's why I'm doing the online courses to get the easier credits out of the way. And as far as my image concerning skating, I just always had to worry about how people saw me both on and off the ice, and that was worse when I got here too. Because it was tough to fit in at first.”

“Skaters grow up like that I think. We don't even realize it until suddenly, it's time to do something for ourselves and we kind of don't know how. You're used to sharing everything with everyone and then here comes something you want to keep just to yourself. You don't want to talk to anyone else about it but the other person those special things are for. I get it.”

“I'm glad you do...”

“We both deserve this. We're both getting to the time in our lives where skating might not be the only thing we do anymore. I've been realizing how much of the world outside our sport I've been neglecting. I think the last part of ourselves that we have kept locked up is growing up and it's a part that's only for one other person. And everyone around us has to figure that out too and learn to respect it. But I think everything and everyone will be okay in the end.”

Yuri snuggled into Victor's embrace more. “Yeah... I just have to get over feeling bad about it. I know there's nothing I can really do...”

“Phichit will figure it all out. Just make sure you're always there for him when he needs it, and he'll realize eventually that you haven't left him behind.”

“How do you know all this stuff?”

“Oh... a friend who's a bit wiser than me set me straight a while back, when we were in a similar situation. That's what true friends do. There's rocky times, but in the end they'll stick by you no matter what happens, if they're true to their word. Sometimes it stings when something changes between friends. But you'll both get through it, I think.”

Yuri smiled softly as he tipped his head up to look at Victor. “You always know what to say to calm me down.”

“Well, I try. I might not always succeed, but I'll do my best to help you when you need it,” Victor replied.

“I can't say I'll get everything right either. But hopefully I won't screw up too bad.”

“Somehow I can't see that happening,” Victor said with a shake of his head. “We're both learning as we go. We'll just be a mess together.”

Yuri laughed at that, then moved in closer to nuzzle into a kiss against Victor's lips, which was immediately returned. Victor leaned into Yuri, wrapping both arms around him as they continued, mixing soft pecks on the lips with deeper kisses for a bit until both finally drew back for air.

“So anyway, about what you said for when we got home...” Victor said with a grin that turned into a laugh as Yuri flushed bright red.

“Oh my god that was so embarrassing!” Yuri said as he buried his face in Victor's chest.

“Aw, but it was adorable. And sexy. And really cute. And sweet. And hot. And --” His words were cut off by the throw pillow Yuri groped around for and smacked him over the head with. “All right that's war!” Victor cried, his words mixed with laughter as he shoved Yuri over onto his back on the couch, pouncing on him with hands searching out ticklish spots until Yuri yelp-laughed under him, the arm with pillow in hand flailing as he tried to smack Victor with it again. When a louder, more shouty-laugh told Victor he'd hit the mark with fingers poking into Yuri's waist the pillow went flying, prompting Makka to skitter after it as Yuri pushed against Victor's shoulders with both hands. Victor heeded the warning and backed off, still giggling smugly as Yuri worked on catching his breath.

“My god you're such a goddamn _brat!”_ Yuri cried, straightening his glasses on his nose then pretending to grip Victor's neck with both hands without actually making contact, prompting Victor to play along and feign being choked for all of two seconds before laughing again.

“But you love me!” Victor grinned, batting his silver eyelashes with an attempt at an innocent smile.

There was barely a half-second between Victor's statement and Yuri's answer. “Yes. I do.” A few moments later Yuri used his index finger to playfully close Victor's slack jaw, his hand then slipping around to draw Victor's head down for another lingering kiss.

“I think... I probably always have,” Yuri continued, his voice soft once they'd broken the kiss. “I just didn't have a name for it. You don't expect to fall in love with pictures, and when you're a kid you don't think of it that way. And well... the more I thought about it once I started getting to know you... a lot of things got clearer, stuff got more explained.”

Victor was still at a loss for words, his blue eyes glistening as he listened, the lids dropping just a bit as Yuri reached up to run fingers through the soft silver hair.

“I think it bugged me when Phichit would get on me about it because I wanted to realize everything on my own. I didn't want someone else telling me what they thought you were feeling, or I was feeling. I wanted to discover it myself.”

Victor finally drew in a breath and sorted out the words flying around in his head. “Well... I... I know I've cared for you for a long time... maybe from day one, even when I didn't want to admit it because there were so many other emotions I was working through. But even that night, when the Olympic free was done... something in me tried not to be angry. I started feeling protective, I didn't want you to go through what I'd been going through. And it just kept building from there. And... actually... it wasn't until this weekend that I realized what it all meant, until I was talking with Chr--”

“Like I didn't know you were talking about me to Chris,” Yuri grinned, his tone teasing; his hand slipped down and in a bit of payback, poked fingertips into Victor's side, pulling a squeak out of him before he reached down to catch Yuri's hand in his own, lacing their fingers together as he brought it up to the cushion next to Yuri's head.

“Well... Chris said something last night as we were talking that basically made me realize everything. He asked me if I'd do anything that would cause me to miss my chance with you. I... I almost panicked. I almost lost it. Because no, I wouldn't. I don't want to. I can't. I don't want to miss out, I don't want to lose you. No matter what comes at us from now on. Because I love you too. And I don't know what the hell I'm doing but I'm going to learn and --”

Yuri laid his index finger over Victor's lips to stop the avalanche of words. “Shhh. I don't know what the hell I'm doing either. But we can learn together, right? Whatever it all means, however long it takes. We'll just do what feels right. We might make mistakes, but as long as I can trust you to bear with me, you can trust me to bear with you while we figure it all out, together.”

Victor blinked back the tears he felt collecting in his eyes, nodding in agreement as he knew speaking would cause him to blubber like an idiot.

“Oh god don't cry!” Yuri smiled, wrapping his arms around Victor to hug him tightly. “We've got this. At least, I hope we do.”

Victor laughed then, a few sniffles mixed in. “We do. Even if we have to pick up a hundred pieces if we ever drop the ball, we do.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you as always for reading, the kudos and the comments (which I am behind on, oops)!


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Relationships among the members of Team DSC continue to evolve in ever more differing ways as the competitive season begins in earnest.

With the way the season had been laid out due to the various Grand Prix Series assignments of the members of Team DSC, the reasoning behind Celestino wanting everyone back home from Autumn Classic as soon as possible was very clear. With Leo, Otabek and Phichit all assigned to Skate America, for which the first official practice was roughly two and a half weeks away, the trio hit the ice on Monday morning with that much more urgency. Even Victor noticed the more intense atmosphere from the time he walked into the DSC complex with Yuri that morning. Even though Yuri's first Grand Prix competition of the series, Cup of China, was about a month away, he too was ready to buckle down and get to work.

The morning began with the usual exercises, which Victor had come to enjoy quite a lot. The focus on a basic skating skills first thing kept his foundations strong and also made him pay attention to things he'd let go by the wayside in lieu of jumps. But for the block of time which was usually devoted to Yuri's Figure of the Day exercise, instead Celestino, Muramoto and Rowan gathered at the boards with the skaters heading over for a morning meeting.

“Okay guys,” Celestino began. “I went to the roundtable meetings after the competition and had some good conversations with the judges from ACI, and got some really good feedback on everyone's programs. Overall, as far as technical everyone was seen as having a good foundation and strong skills. But there's a bunch of notes to go over as far as things to work on. For Phichit, Otabek and Leo we're going to go into it guns blazing, because we don't have a lot of time left before Skate America. Leo has already been to the Challenger in Salt Lake so we are a bit ahead of the game there.”

He then turned his attention to Leo, the American skater's usual smile replaced with a more pensive expression as he listened. “However, the same points were brought up again at ACI that were brought up at Salt Lake for you. Obviously, Salt Lake was only a couple weeks ago so we didn't have a whole lot of time to show major improvement yet, so that's neither here nor there. But. Great presentation skills, and everyone loves the short program especially the audiences. But you need to get a bit more serious about focusing. I know you like to have fun out there and want people to know you do, but at the same time, you're falling back into practice mode when you're out there competing. That's why your free program is still a bit hit and miss on the jumps. You need to worry less about letting people know you're happy, and more about showing them you mean business.

“For today's goals I'd like to see an attempt at least one full runthrough of each program that is clean – which can mean jumps that are doubled, you don't have to nail everything – and we're going to ramp it up pretty quick from today on after that. The big keyword here is Focus, Focus, Focus. You've got the chops, and your presentation can take you far, but it's not going to hold up forever. So for afternoon tech session I want to see you work on your quad toe loop, with the objective of adding it in by US Nationals. If it gets consistent enough to add it in by your second GP assignment, we'll give it a go. We'll make that decision based on how close you are to getting into the Final by the time of the long program at that event.” He reached over and gripped Leo's shoulder reassuringly as the skater seemed to take on an air of apology. “I know what you're capable of. You've just got to learn to use it the right way. We're getting there. I'm happy with what you've put down so far. Now it's time to kick it up a notch. Okay buddy?”

Leo nodded then, drawing in his lower lip to chew on it a bit anxiously as Rowan patted his shoulder, prompting Celestino to smile reassuringly. “Hey, it's all good. The number one thing you _can't_ do is take it personally. At the end of the day I'm going to be proud of you as long as you put in the work I ask of you, even if you don't hit all the goals right out of the gate. You have to find the balance between who you want to be and who you need to be. Better you hear it from me than by the judges via their sneaky underscoring or even worse, trolls on the Interwebs. Now get out there.” And with that, Rowan turned to head over to her station behind the boards with Leo following on the ice.

“Okay, now, Otabek,” Celestino continued. “The main thoughts I got about you were that your technique is on point, and they like that you're up for taking risks. But as far as presentation, you're the polar opposite of Leo. They want to see you project to the audience more. We know you're not a smiley, sparkly skater, but they would like to see more connection with the audience.” Celestino paused as he noticed Victor nodding. “Victor, any thoughts here?”

Victor blinked, not having realized he was reacting. “Oh! I didn't mean to interrupt...”

“No, if you have anything to add I'd like to know,” Otabek encouraged.

“Well... my main thought is that Otabek had a Russian coach for quite a lot of his career so far, and that is one of the main things many Russian skaters are called on by judges from other countries. We tend to be very serious about skating, too much sometimes. Along with Beka's personality in general, I honestly don't know how much we can change, or if you really want to push him too far out of who he is. I would say to you, just try to look up into the audience a bit more. You don't have to make eye contact specifically. But there's a couple pauses in your choreography that you can look up at either the crowd or the judges, and you'd be surprised how far that can go for making you more 'personable' or 'likable'. I got it a lot in my earlier years and I did manage to come out of my shell but not everyone does. Just try to utilize that in a way that fits you.”

Otabek nodded, then smirked at Celestino's smile. “What? You think I can't do it?” he said with a wink.

“Nah, I think you can. But I think your audience connection will be more 'dark and mysterious', which actually can really work in your favor if you don't come off as a little too scary,” Celestino affirmed. “But thank you Victor, I hadn't thought of the prior coaching angle there. Good to know going forward.” Victor nodded in acknowledgment, and Celestino turned his attention back to Beka.

“Other than that, I think we're good. Your quad Sal has come a long way, but we still need to get it a bit more consistent. So let's work on getting that percentage up. And for your runthroughs today, pick some marks during those choreo pauses and start working in some 'connection points' like Victor said. I know you want to start working on a quad flip, but let's get the Sal locked in first.” Beka nodded again and with a fistbump between coach and student, he headed out onto the ice.

Celestino then moved on to Phichit. “Okay, so. The judges like your presentation level as well, although they did say it's a little _too_ theatrical at times. Which, I get it because both pieces this season are from musicals. But I did see a bit too much with the arms and the really big smiles. You and Leo are similar in that way, where you get going and you get a bit too animated. Some of that made your jumps a bit sloppy even though they were clean. You have to find a good balance between the two. Focusing too much on the performance in the short is how you almost missed your Sal. So my main concern is you just tightening up everything and remembering the difference between competition and exhibition. That was my main concern with this music, that it kind of straddles that line and can go either way by how you put it out there.

“So let's get more serious about having fun. And I'd like to see at least one clean runthrough of both your programs today as well, with all of this in mind. Also we'll work on cleaning up your quad toe a bit because it seems to have lost a bit of the snap. Your GOE on it was lower than it has been at ACI. The quad Sal can use a bit of polish too. So those are your goals for today and going forward.” Phichit nodded, and went over to speak further with Muramoto once Celestino finished his thoughts.

“Okay, Yuri,” Celestino began. “Before I get into the roundtable notes, you told me you had something to discuss with Victor and me.”

“Yeah... it kind of came from an odd place, so I wanted to bring it up privately,” Yuri began. “Before we left the rink on Saturday, Yura Plisetsky found me in the men's room...”

“Is that why you were sort of thrown when I found you in there?” Victor asked.

“Yeah. Basically, he told me that Russian media are saying I'm skating too much like Victor and that they think it's because he wants to retire, so he's setting me up to replace him. He said Lilia tried to tell Victor about it.”

“She did mention that she saw my coaching influence in your skating, but I didn't take it to be like that,” Victor said with a frown.

“Apparently it was. She tried to talk to me too before the press conference after the free, and I feel like she had more to say but didn't get a chance to. But Yura said that if I don't tweak things before Rostelecom the Russian media is going to come for me even more.”

“Now I honestly don't think that's accurate at all,” Celestino said. “Sure, I can see some signature affectations and poses in the choreography Victor's done, especially in the short which was basically his program first. But that happens with any good choreographer; a lot of the time you can tell when it's done by someone in particular because of the style. And you've never really been secretive about Victor being your biggest influence and role model, even before he came here. If anything, I think it's more of a heads up that the Russians have found something else to come at you for.”

“Sounds like Yuri's comeback at the Media Day press conference left them nursing their wounds,” Victor smirked. “But obviously if there is a problem with my work being too heavy-handed, you'd know best. Maybe we should watch the ACI programs back and see if it is too pronounced.”

“Plisetsky said I was a Victor ripoff,” Yuri noted, at which Victor furrowed his brow and frowned incredulously.

“Oh come on now,” Celestino said. “That sounds like it's verging on trash talk. Seriously, I don't think there's a major problem here. We can watch the performances between sessions, maybe even have Rowan and Muramoto sit in on it for their opinions. But I think Victor's brought a lot of your strengths to the forefront, and it's got people shook.”

“Really, don't let it bother you Yuri. We'll address it, but if you're comfortable with how things are, we don't have to change anything,” Victor said. “I'm going to do some researching tonight and read up on what Russian media is saying. But trust me: If they're talking shit about you, that means they see you as a threat more so now than they ever did before. And that's not a bad thing because, well, it's not wrong.”

“Agreed,” Celestino nodded. “You were badass as hell out there this past weekend. You couldn't tell at all that you'd been out of competition almost a year. You were on fire. And trust me, everyone noticed. The only points I got at the roundtable were that the quad Sal-double loop had a questionable edge on the second jump, and if it's something you're going to use more you'll need to get it cleaned up. But overall, outside of the usual 'thinking through parts of the programs because they're new and different for you', there wasn't much else they had to say. We're right where we want to be at the halfway point of this Olympic quad even with all that time off. We just want to make sure you don't peak too soon.”

“That's always a difficult balance to strike,” Victor concurred. “You want to be on top of your game and stay consistent, but at the same time you can't get complacent. You can never believe you've got anything on lock just because you're bringing home gold all the time. If you go too hard too soon, you run the risk of injury at the wrong time.”

“All good points,” Celestino agreed. “But let's stay in this season first. The runup to the Olympic year is so important, so we'll focus on keeping Yuri healthy. We can still work on the quad Lutz, but let's not stress about getting it competition ready just yet. I think perfecting that quad Sal-triple loop will scare the shit out of a lot of people, so let's focus on that for tech. And we'll iron out this supposed presentation issue later.”

“My only other thought is with the Sal-loop combination, that you may want to start working on keeping your quad and groin muscles strong. That's a lot of stress to put on your takeoff leg with two edge jumps, especially with the force you'll need to get all of the rotations,” Victor added.

Celestino nodded emphatically at that. “Absolutely, very good suggestion. We'll get Craig right on top of it and get what you'll need to do added into your off-ice strength training.”

“All right. Everything sounds good,” Yuri nodded.

“And by the way,” Celestino said before Yuri began to move away to the ice. “Victor said you held your own really well while I was running around like a headless chicken. I'm glad. I think I've probably drilled you enough on your strengths and gave you enough pep talks that you can remember them in your sleep,” he smirked. “That was a goal we had set for you, to be able to focus and harness that strength, and I'm really proud of you for getting there. I'll always worry about you but knowing you can manage without me if you need to makes me really happy.”

Yuri smiled at that, face flushing over. “I didn't even really think about it. I just remembered stuff you've said and how we've handled things. I guess I am getting there. Having Victor nearby helped too, though I know eventually he'll be needing you too. So I guess it's good that it's really kicking in now, before everything gets crazy.”

Celestino nodded in agreement. “It definitely is. And Victor as of this point hasn't made a decision about getting back to competing again, so for right now let's just focus on building on this milestone.”

Yuri looked over at Victor, who smiled in return; he then turned back to Celestino. “All right. Anything else then?”

“Nope, we're good, you can head out,” he replied, at which Yuri took off to warm up a bit before beginning his session.

“As far as you Victor, I'm starting to think we need to set some kind of benchmark as to your training. Maintenance is fine, but without something to work toward you might get a bit too lax. I know you wanted to sit out the GP Series, but what about your Nationals? What's the protocol if you have been off the ice for a while?”

“I'm not sure, I'll need to look into it,” Victor said. “But most likely I'd get a bye if I petitioned the RSF to come back. I've had Nationals in the back of my mind. I'll probably get some flack for keeping my programs from last season but I'm fine with it.”

“There would be more if you went into the Olympic season with recycled stuff to be honest, even though a lot of people have done it, and sometimes it's a good choice. But yeah... even if you haven't made a firm decision, I think as of today we should start rebuilding. I need to know what our relationship will be as far as coach to... well I don't want to say student, but skater I guess. We've worked on a few of your old bad habits, but I think we need to create a whole off-ice and on-ice regimen so you're ready to go.”

“That sounds good to me,” Victor said. “Basically I need criticism that's constructive. Just doing things over and over until they stick isn't something I can do anymore, and I've learned just since I've been here that it isn't a good way to do things long term. My body is getting to the point where it can't handle that kind of pounding every day on top of competition. If I want to make it to one last Olympics, I need to pace myself and tighten up any holes in my technique. It's obvious I'll need the quad loop going forward, and maybe even a quad Lutz, though for me that may be too much. But I'd like to try.”

“With the right off-ice conditioning and the right program structures going forward, I think you can pull it off. How about this. Take it easy today, work with Yuri. Think about what you want your goals to be tonight. We'll sit down with Craig from the gym, and maybe with Dr. Jeff too to see where you're at there. And then we'll get things moving. I'll get them lined up to meet with us tomorrow.”

Victor nodded. “All right, I'll do that.”

“So, you're looking at PyeongChang after all, hm?” Celestino confirmed. “Trying to get that gold you missed?”

Victor blinked at that, a strange feeling he couldn't define flashing through him for a moment before he cleared his head to respond. “I... honestly, I don't know yet. Obviously, that would be amazing. But there's also the concept of Yuri making history with back to back Olympic gold. And by then any one of these men could win it. I guess I'll see when it's time, what my heart ends up wanting. There's also a chance there will be so many Russian contenders by then that the RSF could decide to not even send me. Right now, I just want to see what it feels like to be coached by someone who works with me, and doesn't see me as a tool for forging his own place in history. And I just want to enjoy competing again, on my terms, whatever it ends up bringing me in the end.”

Celestino nodded. “Those are fair enough goals, and realistic ones. We'll get there together, wherever you want to go. But my main concern is that you do it your way, and come out of it with no regrets. Because I ended my career that way, and I know what it's like. With your legacy, you should be able to walk away knowing you did everything you could because you were physically and mentally able to, and that you did it for  _ yourself _ first. You deserve that much. And I am honored to be a part of helping you make it happen.”

Victor felt another pang in his chest at that. “I'm honored to have you on my side, truly. After seeing how much you've helped Yuri, I knew your approach was the one I needed if I was going to continue in the sport.”

Celestino smiled in response. “I'm glad you realized it in time enough for me to help. But there is something I want to add before I send you on your way. I know missing that gold stung. Trust me, it took me a long time to work through having been so close twice and never making it all the way. We grew up with the Olympic gold being the pinnacle of our sport, the ultimate token that represents our career on the ice; there isn't a figure skater alive that doesn't. But you know what? At the end of the day, it's just another piece of jewelry. It's what you contribute to this sport, and what you leave it with, that's your true legacy. They might not remember who won what year, but they'll remember if at the end of the day you were a good sportsman that left skating better than when you came in.

“And you don't have to make your mark while you're still skating. I may not have gotten an Olympic gold, but now? What I'm leaving these guys with, what I hope to leave you with too, is knowing that all your hard work meant something to  _ you. _ That it made you a better person, and it makes you want to do that for others, whether or not you stay involved in the sport. So. Go for PyeongChang, make it a goal? Absolutely. But don't live and die by it. Because doing it like that? It's not worth it.”

  
  


  
  


With everyone getting to work after the team meeting that Monday, Victor came to realize he was experiencing the true on-season atmosphere of the Detroit Skating Club for the first time. The summer he'd spent getting settled in had been rather laid back at the rink, but now that it was go time he was starting to see how the members of Team DSC went about their business – and after the atmosphere he'd grown up with at Yubileyny, it wasn't a stretch to call it culture shock in more ways than one.

Celestino treated all of his students as equals. Despite Yuri being his highest-ranked and most-decorated skater that was actively competing, there was no reverence or preferential treatment. Yuri was given a set of objectives for each day just like everyone else, Victor included. But the thing that was most mind-boggling to Victor, even though he'd known about it beforehand, were Celestino and his coaching team's expectations for how those objectives were carried out.

Victor had decided to rework his short and long programs from the 2015-16 season, hoping to up his technical difficulty even though he currently held the World Records for short program, free program and overall. He'd already been working on the quad loop to add to his arsenal of quads which included the toe, flip and Salchow, but Celestino had noticed some points in his technique that when tweaked, had helped him to become more consistent.

If it had been Yakov, he'd have told Victor to keep doing the jump over and over until he found the way to land it every time without any chance of negative GOE, but Celestino wouldn't hear of it – especially since it was a similar method of learning quads that had cost Celestino his skating career via injury. Instead, Victor worked on the jump in blocks of time, no longer than 15 minutes per session, and as soon as he landed between one and three clean ones, he was to stop and move on to the next thing on his list for the day. His off-ice training now emphasized extra stretching and flexibility along with strengthening the lower abs, groin and adductors. All three were muscles that were needed to land the loop, the takeoff of which was from an edge and not toepick-assisted, thus making it more difficult.

For the first few days as the feeling of competitive training began to return in full Victor started to lapse into old bad habits. For one block of “loop time” as Celestino had dubbed it, Victor hadn't been able to land a clean quad loop. He hit “snooze” on the alarm on his phone he'd set to let him know the block of time was up for that session and attempted to keep going – that is, until he heard a rather annoyed “HEY. VICTOR.” as Celestino came over. He was then informed that he'd broken the rules they'd laid down, and the coach would hear none of Victor's reasoning for trying to overdo it. Yuri was gliding by catching his breath between his own jump work and upon overhearing, looked right at Victor, waved a hand dismissively, and said “You won't win this one, better move on or he'll dock jump focus out of your final session to compensate.” Victor looked back at Celestino, the coach standing with arms crossed over his chest as he nodded in agreement with Yuri, and relented.

“It's all about safety, Victor,” Celestino said as Victor came over to the boards once Yuri was back at center ice. “We worked out the max time between off-ice and on with Craig that we should stress those muscles per day. Once you've built up strength we'll go further but not before.”

“It's just that I didn't meet the goal,” Victor replied. “I didn't get a clean one in.”

“You have two more sessions to get one. And if you don't, tomorrow's another day. We're keeping things strict until we know where you're at physically. You haven't actively done quad loops since Worlds back in March, I am taking no chances and you shouldn't either,” Celestino said.

Victor sighed heavily, then nodded. “I'm just not used to this type of strict. It was always the opposite for me.”

“Which quite honestly makes me wonder how you made it to 28 without more than the quad muscle strain you had. But we need to treat that injury as a warning sign. Obviously you're in great condition, but just going HAM till you get it right only puts too much stress on your body, and too much stress on your mind. You want to walk out of here every day feeling good about what you've accomplished, no matter what it is. You leave here on a Friday let's say, having fallen on your ass 20 times because you're exhausted and sore, all you're gonna do is think about it all weekend and come in on Monday pissed off and end up doing something rash that could fuck you up in more ways than one. That's not how we work here.”

“I... I know. There's just a lot of thinking I need to change too,” Victor said. “After staying at the rink as long as I could to get everything perfect, up to 10 runthroughs a day... I feel like I'm being lazy now, even though I'm doing a lot.”

“That's because you're doing it in a way that utilizes your body and mind in ways that don't deplete both. It's not a bad thing. That's the biggest thing to remember,” Celestino said. “So yeah, move on from the loop for now. I want to see how you're doing with the rework we did on your step sequence for “Aria”, so let's go to that next.”

“I've got the pattern down for the most part, there's a few transitions that are a bit challenging though,” Victor said. “I do remember watching videos of your skating and thinking that your footwork was pretty intricate even for that time period.”

Celestino's smirk told Victor immediately that something was up. “I liked to chop my veggies on the ice, that's for sure,” the coach said with a laugh. “But I didn't come up with the additions to your original choreo.”

Victor blinked, surprised at that. “Really? Who did then? I know Rowan does choreo...”

“Nah. I consulted my footwork specialist,” Celestino grinned. “You got any issues with the Level 4 power up we gave you, you're gonna have to take it up with Yuri.”

This time Victor felt his jaw drop a bit. “You're telling me  _ Yuri _ did those modifications?”

“Yep. He did learn the whole program at one point, so I asked him what he thought would amp it up. He drew it up and gave it to me in about an hour. Said he was surprised you hadn't come up with it when you did the program originally. I can see why you maybe didn't because in the long, you need to conserve energy with there being more jumping passes. But Yuri goes all out no matter what program it is.”

A wicked grin spread over Victor's face in response. “Well, then I guess I need to kick it up a notch. I suppose if he's going to skate like me, I should learn how to skate like him. Clearly I'll need to if I want to have a chance to beat him.”

“Better be careful letting him hear you talk about beating him,” Celestino noted with another one of his rakish smirks. “With him that's like a declaration of war, especially since the Olympics. He keeps getting stronger with every competition both mentally and physically and with how he's been gone for so long, what we saw at ACI is only the beginning. By the time we get to PyeongChang, he'll probably be the heavy favorite even if you're up to full power yourself.”

Again, Victor felt that odd pang in his chest at the thought. “I expect nothing less,” he replied.

  
  


  
  


With the new methods of training keeping him busy and, as Celestino said, tiring him out in ways other than just the physical, Victor welcomed Friday and found himself actually looking forward to resting rather than worrying about skating. It was a new experience to feel mentally satisfied with what he'd done for the week, and feeling like he _deserved_ the rest was a far cry from begrudgingly allowing it to himself as he'd always done in the past.

The only down note to the weekend was that Yuri wouldn't be spending it with him. The gaming club on the campus of the college Yuri was attending and that Phichit had been taking some advanced courses at was having their monthly tournament, and it was something that the duo had always done together to blow off steam before their competitions if it didn't conflict with one or both of them being away.

Victor was selfishly a little upset, but also realized it was much-needed time between the pair that Yuri especially had wanted to utilize. The best friends had seemed to be at the very least on speaking terms, and Victor had put the uncharacteristic low-key tone of their interactions down to the overall atmosphere of the club as things ramped up for the season. With Makka taken on a nice long walk in the crisp fall evening, an equally-long hot bath for himself and dinner done Victor settled in with a book he'd been meaning to read, letting Celestino's parting words for the weekend about emphasizing self-care prevail for possibly the first time in his life.

  
  


  
  


Yuri liked to do his grocery shopping and other errands after the rink on Fridays; it had become his routine not long after settling into life in Detroit. He had the transit schedules down pat and prided himself on getting everything done quickly so he could spend as much time enjoying his weekends as he could, especially when the competitive season would be taking up a few of them over the next few months. There was also homework to fit in, though this weekend he'd been lucky enough to get everything done during the weeknights, leaving his schedule for his off-days totally free.

Phichit, on the other hand, had always been a “I'll grab things when I need them” type, which sometimes caused crisis situations when he didn't have something he needed. Well, Phichit had a way of making things into crises, anyway. Yuri had never known his friend to not be dramatic and loud about things 99.99% of the time. Yuri would laugh at Phichit's over the top reactions, shaking his head and talking him down from whatever pseudo-panic was happening. But knowing this, Yuri would always grab things he knew Phichit would need on his own shopping trips just to make sure his friend would have less of a chance to worry.

In fact, Yuri had _always_ thought about Phichit, and Phichit had always done the same. Had they relied on each other too much? Possibly, Yuri reflected as he disembarked the bus that stopped in front of the grounds of the apartment complex, canvas shopping bags laden with items. Maybe that's why things being odd right now was difficult. Yuri had hope that once Phichit got busy with his training for the Grand Prix Series, which usually caused them both to be tired and a bit distant from each other anyway, things would smooth out. After all, it was naive to think that neither of their lives would ever change from what they had been for the past few years – especially when it was Yuri's own best friend that had been a bit of a catalyst for those changes.

It was already dark by the time Yuri returned home from his Friday errands at this time of year, and as he advanced up the walkway leading to their apartment building he looked up and once again noticed that there were no lights on in their unit. Assuming Phichit might be napping before their plans to go over to the university that evening for the choosing of teams for the gaming tournament Yuri took the elevator upstairs, struggling a bit to unlock the door with the bags hooked over his arms.

“Phichit? You here?” Yuri called as he flipped on the light with the switch by the door, silence answering him. A quick look around the apartment found it empty; figuring Phichit might have gone out for something he put things away, then sat down to wait as he nibbled on a hot pocket to take the edge off his hunger; there was always pizza and other munchies at the gaming club events so he didn't want to be too full.

As the time that they should have been leaving to catch the bus to campus drew near Yuri became concerned. He'd at least expected Leo to be knocking on the door by now as he'd been invited to come along; each student was allowed one non-student friend as long as there was room and Phichit had made sure to submit Leo's name along with his as his guest. Finally, with 15 minutes to go before Yuri would have to leave to catch the bus on time he texted Phichit to find out where the pair were, adding Leo into it as well in case Phichit didn't hear his phone in the noisy gaming room.

**Yuri:** Hey, where are you? Am I meeting you guys there?

There was no response for quite some time, during which the window for catching the bus passed. Finally he heard his phone ping, but with Leo's text tone.

**Leo:** We've been here for an hour, it started at 5. We came right from the rink. I guess the time changed because so many people signed up. Phichit said he thought you had something else to do?

It was Yuri's turn to take a while to respond.

**Yuri:** I had my errands I usually do on Friday, but I thought we'd leave from here. No one told me it started early, it's usually not till 7:30.

Another wait for a reply.

**Leo:** IDK. I thought Phichit told you and that you canceled or something. We still have an open spot on our team if you want to come down, I can tell them to hold it. We're only doing character setup tonight.

**Yuri:** No... actually, I do have something to do. Have fun.

  
  


  
  


“Makka? What is it boy?”

Victor had fallen asleep while reading his book and had been woken by the dog's whimpers. Blinking awake slowly he sat up to see the dog looking out the window, tail wagging. Confused as to whether the dog was upset or happy he rose from the couch to peer through the slats of the vertical blinds he'd forgotten to close before he'd laid down to see Yuri, weekend bag slung over his shoulder, coming up the walkway to the apartment building. Frowning in concern he waited for Yuri to buzz the intercom to be let in and hit the button, waiting at the door with Makka sitting dutifully next to him until the tap came from the other side.

“Yuri? I didn't – what's wrong?” Victor's concern grew as it seemed Yuri had been crying, unless it was just the chilly night and the walk over that had made his cheeks and eyes red...

“I don't even know anymore,” Yuri said, sitting down heavily on the couch without even taking off his jacket. Victor sat down next to him, wrapping an arm around Yuri's shoulders as he related the events of earlier, Victor's stomach clenching a bit at the hurt tone of Yuri's voice.

“Are you sure there wasn't just a miscommunication? Maybe Phichit meant to tell you and didn't, or maybe told Leo to and he forgot?” Victor asked.

“I don't know what to think anymore. Phichit has never been like this. I thought we'd gotten through this but now I don't even know. He and Leo have gotten a lot closer and have been doing some of the same things he and I have always done together, and I usually don't find out about it till after the fact from Leo after the weekends. This week felt like things were getting back to normal and I told Phichit I wanted to go with them and do this for the weekend. And now this, after I wanted to spend time with him.”

“I wonder if Phichit even realizes he's doing this,” Victor mused.

“What do you mean?”

“I've seen it happen with friends, when one has someone else new in their life. Sometimes the other will then find a friend and play a game of 'replace me, replace you'. It was actually a quite popular thing to happen at our rink especially among the younger skaters. But it kind of would happen without anyone intending it to.”

“I would say that it was unintentional if it was the first time something like this has happened, but it's not. At this point I'd prefer we just got into a massive argument and hashed it out rather than this. For someone who wanted me to be with you so badly, he's sure not taking it well.”

Victor sighed heavily. “Well... all I can really tell you is maybe just give him the space to figure it out on his own. Maybe he didn't even know he'd feel this way about everything until it all actually happened.”

Yuri buried his face in his hands. “Anyway. Apparently I'm free this weekend now, so here I am.”

“I'm glad you came here, even if the reason isn't great. Have you eaten?”

“No, I'm actually starving. I thought I'd be eating at the gaming club.”

“If you don't mind leftovers, I have some from my dinner. I'll make you up a plate.”

Yuri smiled softly. “That sounds good.”

Victor leaned in to give Yuri a peck on the lips, then winked playfully. “Coming right up. Take your jacket off. Stay awhile.”

  
  


  
  


Leo had found Yuri's text while checking his phone during his break to get pizza from the food table, and as he returned to where Phichit was sitting, the empty chair Leo now knew would be staying empty that was next to his own sparked some anger within him.

“What is your deal?” Leo snapped, startling Phichit out of his train of thought as he created his character on his laptop.

“What do you mean?”

“Yuri said he had no idea that we were coming early. I thought you told him and he was just going to be late because he always does his shopping on Fridays. But he didn't know at all and now he's not coming.”

“It's fine. He's probably going to Victor's place anyway now.”

“It's _not_ fine!” Leo said, tone exasperated now. “Victor's right. You're jealous as hell and won't admit it.”

“I am not!” Phichit shot back. “I knew you'd be here so I wasn't really worried about it. At least you still like doing stuff that I like to do instead of disappearing every weekend.”

“Well that doesn't prove that you're not jealous. This isn't the first time you've jerked Yuri around when he was going out of his way to spend time with you since he started seeing Victor. He keeps trying to stay your friend but you're the one that's being an asshole now. You're the one that tried to set them up, so get over it now that it's worked and be happy for him!”

Phichit remained silent then, making a show of working on his character. Leo attempted to do the same but found he was too incensed about the situation to continue. “I know what your problem is,” he finally said.

Phichit looked over at him with a questioning frown.

“You didn't realize it was _you_ that wanted to be with Yuri, until he found someone else. Someone that _you_ pushed him to find. Now you realized you've made a big mistake and there's no fixing it. So instead of working through that and fixing things, you're just gonna cut him out to deal?”

“Are you nuts?” Phichit asked by way of response.

“No, but I'm starting to think you are. Yuri would climb a ladder to the moon for you. You're his best friend. He's _still_ trying to be your best friend. And if you don't figure that out and get your shit straight soon, you won't even have that much anymore.”

Phichit seemed stumped for a reply then, and turned back to his computer; the reaction proved to be the last straw for Leo. He logged out of the gaming system, shutting down his laptop and gathering his things.

“Where are you going?” Phichit asked.

“Beka said he was going to the rink to watch the hockey games. I think I'm gonna join him,” Leo replied. “You've got two spots open your team now. There's plenty of people here, you shouldn't have a problem filling them.” Before Phichit could respond further Leo gathered his things and left, stopping by the organizers' table to inform them that two slots had opened in the tournament before taking his leave.

  
  


  
  


“I didn't realize you could cook since we've always ordered when I came over. That was pretty good.”

Victor had just finished cleaning up the kitchen with Yuri insisting on helping even though he hadn't been there for the preparation of dinner. He picked up his glass of wine with a soft laugh.

“I've lived on my own for a long time. I had more fails than successes in the beginning, and most of what I make is simple but at least it's something I do for myself,” Victor said. “I just wasn't sure if my cooking was edible for anyone else but me.”

“You're better at it than you think,” Yuri said, sipping his own wine as he listened.

“Well, throwing chicken and veggies in tin foil and into the oven isn't hard!” Victor laughed. “I figured it was pretty difficult to screw that up. I make a few different versions of it.”

“Hey, easy stuff is the best though! I can do quite a few Japanese recipes because I grew up learning them from my mom. But sometimes they take forever,” Yuri said.

“Oh? What can you make?”

“Uhhh... hm. You've put me on the spot. I don't know, yakitori, tamago kake gohan, I eat that for breakfast a lot but you gotta be careful with the eggs here. I had to modify that and cook the eggs a little bit but it's not bad. Katsudon, which is my favorite, but it's really not great if you're watching your weight so I only treat myself when I win gold, at least during the season. But in the beginning when Phichit and I were broke college students and homesick, I improvised a lot. After a few failed attempts, I can make a cheater's ramen with rotisserie chicken, chicken broth and whole grain spaghetti. I did one with roast beef and beef broth too. It's actually pretty good, I came up with it myself. It's far from authentic ramen, but similar enough to take the edge off a craving. If nothing else, it's a good noodle soup for a cold day.”

“We should go and get the stuff for that because I'm very curious now. It sounds like something I could pull off!” Victor laughed.

“I bet you could! Let's do that, we can run to the store tomorrow.”

The pair moved their conversation to the living room, making sure to bring the wine bottle along as they sat down on the couch and snuggled together.

“You know, that's one thing I never saw you talk much about in interviews,” Yuri said, the thought coming out a bit unfinished once the pair were on their third glass of wine apiece, which had rendered the bottle empty.

“What's that?” Victor questioned.

“Your parents. Where you came from. I mean, like, I know you were born in St. Petersburg but you've never really talked about your family.”

Victor was quiet for a bit before his wine-fuzzy brain composed a response. “I was in one of the last, if not the last, generation of kids that ended up in the Soviet way of getting into skating. When you got old enough, you kind of grew up more around your coach than your family. Kids in Moscow started going to boarding schools near their rinks because there were more opportunities to do that there, so they would be supervised by adults while living away from home when they were still young. It's much different these days for some kids now.

“But once I got to around the age of 10 or so, my parents said they couldn't afford to keep me in the boarding school near Yubileyny, and the skating lessons, because only my father worked and we didn't have a lot when I was young. Yakov knew I was going to do “big things”, so I ended up moving in with him and Lilia when they were still married because he wanted me to keep skating. My parents agreed to it because it was the only way I could afford to stay in the sport, or so they told me.”

“You still saw your parents a lot after that though right?”

Another hesitation in Victor's response. “For New Years, and my birthday, at first. But the more I practiced, the more busy I became... not so much. I still tried to reach out, but I became less important in my parents' lives once Yakov became my unofficial guardian. As I got older I made the connection and eventually questioned it. I came to find out from Lilia that I had ended up being an income source for my parents. Instead of paying my tuition and lesson fees with the RSF stipend, they were using the money for themselves and when they were a year behind in paying for everything it was supposed to go to, they got caught. Getting me out of my parents' home was actually more about stopping them from literally robbing me. The funding I received was now going to Yakov for my living expenses, lessons and equipment, and for the tutor Yakov hired to work with me between sessions at the rink, as it was supposed to. Yakov had paid off my school with his own money, and took the loss on lesson fees until he got my funding reinstated with the RSF and they reimbursed him.

“Even so, once I got past the anger over what my parents had done, I still felt like I wanted to take care of them. When I first started doing well financially in skating, I would send them money sometimes, when I had it to give. I'd visit. That seemed to help at first but then they started to notice that my appearance was “not appropriate for a boy”. They didn't like the long hair, the ambiguous costumes. Eventually I came out to them around age 15. I didn't see them a lot by then but whenever I did, it was tense. We came to an impasse about my “lifestyle” right around the time of my first Junior Worlds, and that was pretty much it. We don't talk much these days. But really, the disconnect started well before that. It was just the final slam of the door that made it shut for good.”

Victor was startled when Yuri hugged him so tightly he had to gasp a bit for air.

“I'm so sorry Victor,” Yuri said. “That really sucks. Which sounds cheesy as hell to say but I don't even know what else --”

“It's all right,” he replied, reciprocating the hug with a tight one of his own. “I just think about it as leaving the nest. All things considered, I guess I've gone and done that twice now. I've come to realize that a lot of Yakov's issues with my growing up and gaining my own voice were the opposite of my parents'. I feel like for him, it was that I owed him everything I became, and instead of seeing me as a grown man who was now independent, he felt I was ungrateful somehow. And as far as skating, sure, yes, I did. But the price I paid was more than in rubles. I think he was afraid I was going to retire and leave, and he changed and got more strict and controlling especially after Sochi. I think it will be a while to undo all of that now. Once I realized I needed to do that was when I made the move to get out, and I don't regret my decision to come here at all. I'm with people that care about me for more than just what my abilities can provide for them.”

Yuri was quiet for a while then, his head resting on Victor's shoulder until Victor finally broke the silence.

“What is it, Yuri? What are you thinking about?”

“I just... we're so different that way. The onsen has been in my father's family for a few generations, so he grew up working there and going to school. He went to university for business and took it over when my grandparents retired. So the only thing my parents ever really expected of my sister and I was to earn our keep even at home, and as soon as we were old enough we started doing chores in the onsen to earn our allowance, just like my father did. And my father was always very big on education, because it was a given that Mari and I would inherit the onsen someday. He wanted us both to go to university for business, so that's what my major is, with a minor in music because the arts are important to my mom. It was because of her, and her friendship with Minako-sensei, that Minako convinced them to get me into skating.

“My parents might be tough about some things, but at the end of the day I know it's because they want the best for me. If the only disagreement about my skating was that they felt it interfered with my education, I guess I'm doing well. I'm the Olympic Champion and they're still annoyed that I'm not a full-time student. I do intend to finish university. I'll have one year left at the end of the academic year I'm in now, and I'm going to defer fully till after the Olympic season so I can concentrate on that, because it might be the last chance I have to make it to another Olympics. I told them those were my terms and they were okay with that, and they continue to support me even though I'm holding my own financially now since Sochi happened. My mom sends me care packages. She thinks that I assume it's from Mari all the time, but I can tell when they're from her.”

Victor smiled softly at that. “How can you tell?”

“Mari sends me gaming magazines, anime merch I want, and stuff like that, things I can't get here. Mom sends me all the Japanese candy and stuff she knows I love even though I'm really not supposed to have it. Because Mom always says things with food. She started working for my Dad's family at the onsen when she was in college, that's how they met. So she learned to speak with things like that, stuff that she knows you love. They're both typical Japanese in that they don't say “I love you” directly. They'll say it in their own ways, sometimes with actions more than words.”

“And you? How did you learn to say it so easily?”

“Say what?”

Victor felt the flush over his cheeks. “I love you.”

It was Yuri's turn to blush. “Sometimes you just know it's the right thing to say.” He felt his heart flutter a bit as he looked up into Victor's striking blue eyes, which had softened even more than they already were in response to his answer. As the Russian leaned in Yuri tipped his head up to accept the kiss, the arms wrapped around Victor that had already been quite tight in their embrace pulling in just a bit more. Victor deepened the kiss in kind, pulling Yuri in closer as well.

Yuri had always known that alcohol lowered his inhibitions; it was one of the reasons he usually stayed away from it. He wasn't drunk by any stretch of the imagination but also was feeling more relaxed even with the lingering sadness caused by the events that had prompted him to turn to Victor for comfort. This, what was happening right now, with the one he'd dreamed of since that first time so long ago that he'd seen his face. It had been a wild dream once. But as Victor leaned in even more, Yuri's back pressing into the back of the couch as a warmth began to build within him that wasn't from the wine, Yuri decided that he'd fight against whatever came, if only he could keep what was happening now from ever ending.

Victor was only very mildly startled when Yuri began to lean farther back, lying down on the couch, his arms pulling Victor down onto him. He'd always kept his kisses to Yuri's lips and face, never wanting to cause any inadvertent pressure to take things further. But as he felt one of Yuri's hands playing over his back through his shirt, then finding the hem and slipping beneath it to run the palm over his back, Victor allowed his kisses to trail down to Yuri's neck and was pleasantly surprised at the soft moan mixed with a sigh it evoked in response. Yuri angled his head, exposing more skin for Victor to taste, his other hand also slipping under Victor's shirt to explore.

Yuri felt his heart beating so hard it seemed like it would jump up out of his chest any second, but when Victor lowered his body down onto his own he thought for sure he'd feel the thumping, maybe even hear it. Their tight hugs and cuddles had caused Yuri to find himself dreaming about what it would feel like to explore Victor's muscular frame, to feel it against him even more than what an embrace afforded. As he pulled the back of Victor's shirt up as far as he could the other man propped himself up on his palms for Yuri to relieve him of it which he obliged, pulling it over Victor's head and letting it slide down his arms to pool on top of Yuri's chest. Victor tossed it to the floor –

– and both of them burst into laughter as Makkachin gave an indignant huff, standing up with the shirt draped over his head for a moment before he shook it off.

“Maybe we should... go to the bedroom?” Victor suggested, his tone careful, questioning as he hoped to not pressure Yuri.

“That's probably a good idea,” Yuri agreed, his voice a bit husky, just enough that it made Victor shiver. Both men rose, with Yuri following Victor to the bedroom, the latter making sure the door was closed to prevent any more interruptions. The room was momentarily dark until Yuri's eyes adjusted, the ambient light of the streetlamps around the area filtering through the curtains allowing Victor's body to cut a striking silhouette against them.

Yuri felt a mix of arousal and adrenaline rush through him as Victor decided to strip the rest of the way, his silhouette taking on an added dimension as his mostly-full erection sprang up.  _ Oh god, I am so not prepared for this what do I do now... _ Yuri pushed the thought out of his mind for the moment as Victor's actions prompted him to undress as well, feeling the flush from his shoulders up to the top of his head as his own erection, very much full, sprang up from the track pants as they dropped to the floor. Victor walked toward him, touching the base of a small lamp on the dresser and filling the room with a soft glow that amounted to about a three-wick candle's worth of light. Yuri saw his eyes roam over his body, Victor's own cheeks flushing as he took in everything about him.

“Well, that's impressive,” Victor teased; Yuri buried his face in his hands, realizing at that point that he still had his glasses on.

“Well... I mean... yeah... you too?” Yuri stammered, prompting a musical, playful laugh from Victor that Yuri was sure he hadn't ever heard before; it made his heart skip a beat as he felt Victor's arms slip around him, one hand coming up to gently tug Yuri's glasses off and set them on the nightstand.

“This is pretty spontaneous,” Victor purred softly as he nuzzled along Yuri's cheekbone and up to his ear. “I can't say I'm completely prepared, and I don't think either of us are ready for anything _too_ intense yet. But... we can most certainly play a bit, yes? Make each other feel good...” Yuri gasped softly as Victor's hands slid down to caress his backside, then squeaked as his hands squeezed gently.

“Yuri, so firm and lovely. Those quad jumps are treating you well,” Victor purred. “No wonder you fill out the Eros costume better than I ever did.” Yuri then realized it was possible to squirm standing in place as Victor leaned in to softly bite his neck, the proximity of their bodies causing Victor's erection to graze Yuri's abs and Yuri's to pass over Victor's thigh. He shivered at the tease of it, finding his hips almost involuntarily pushing into it.

“Yuri, so bossy!” came Victor's teasing purr again, his lips nuzzling into Yuri's ear, a maddening mix of ticklish and a shock that traveled straight downward to where his erection still grazed Victor's thigh, making him moan – and then his head filled with static as Victor murmured softly, “Tell me what you want to do to me.”

“I... oh _god_ ,” Yuri gasped as Victor's fingertips trailed around from his backside to his lower abs, dancing around the soft triangle of skin below his navel as he bent his leg up again, the underside of Yuri's erection grazing over Victor's rock-hard thigh. “I... think... I never thought about that just...”

“Just what?” Yuri wondered how exactly he was supposed to answer with Victor's lips kissing over his shoulders and collarbone, his free hand moving up to thumb over one of Yuri's nipples.

“Yuuurriiii.” That tone had always done _something_ to him, but hearing it in this context nearly caused Yuri's knees to give way, even more so then as Victor's voice dropped back to the silky murmur of a few moments before. “Did you dream about me?”

As his body reacted to Victor's explorations, Yuri realized there was no way around being honest. After all, dreams could come true every so often, right? “I... I did...”

“Tell me.” Both of Victor's hands raked fingertips from Yuri's hips up to his chest, catching both nipples under his thumbs before index fingers joined in, rolling both between them and causing Yuri to reach up to grip Victor's shoulders, even closer now to losing the ability to stand.

“I... used to find a favorite picture, and make up a story to go with it...” Yuri moved with Victor as he backed him toward the bed. “We would meet somehow... but it always ended up the same...” He felt the edge of the mattress against the backs of his legs, allowing Victor to lean in and lie him down on the bed. “And... we'd cuddle...” Victor climbed into the bed, straddling Yuri on all fours then leaning in to shower kisses over his body, causing him to squirm as he fought to keep his focus, failing as Victor's kisses moved to that sensitive spot below his navel, his hips raising to Victor's lips.

“And then what?” Victor purred against his skin, a wicked grin spreading over his face as the brush of his lips caused Yuri to squeak again.

“I'd...” Even through the thickness of arousal, Yuri found himself unable to say the most explicit thoughts in his head aloud even if he knew they'd gone far beyond his words being anywhere near inappropriate. “I'd pretend what I did... was you doing it... close my eyes and pretend you were there... holding me when...”

He felt Victor move up on the bed, then groaned as Victor's heated skin pressed against him, chest to chest, one hand moving down his body with palm pressing into his skin. Yuri's arms wrapped around Victor's body, the hard, rippling muscles feeling good against his own skin.

At the first touch of Victor's fingertips grazing along the shaft of his erection, barely making contact in a maddening tease, Yuri's eyes dropped closed and everything went static again. He felt Victor's lips moving over his neck, over his face to meet lips with his, but the slow, almost agonizing buildup to Victor's hand finally wrapping around him felt like it took hours. Teasing fingertips with a hint of the scratch of nails over the underside of his erection, a thumb with a feather's breath over the tip. At first force of habit caused Yuri to try to keep his moans of pleasure quiet, but the additional tease of the pleasure being out of his control and at Victor's mercy made it more and more difficult.

As if he considered it a challenge Victor slowly increased the contact but still not enough, graduating up to the pads of his fingers sliding lazily up and down, his thumb's movements over the tip becoming more slippery as the tease caused drops of pre-cum to escape. As Victor caught Yuri's mouth in a kiss that escalated into their tongues caressing each other's Yuri found himself releasing a raspy groan into Victor's mouth as he finally wrapped his hand around the shaft... and stopped moving completely.

After that moment, Yuri knew he'd never be shy with Victor again as the need drove him over the edge. Reaching up he gripped a handful of Victor's hair, tugging his head back to break the kiss, his free hand pressing fingertips into Victor's back and dragging as if he wanted to rip him open.

“Finish. Me.” Yuri almost startled himself with the growl that came from deep in his chest and mixed with his words. For a moment he thought it would throw Victor off but instead it caused the most wickedly sexy grin to spread over Victor's face, and Yuri was sure he was going to lose his mind.

“Tell me how I did it,” Victor purred.

It took Yuri a moment to realize what he meant. Unsure of what Victor would be comfortable with even within his his nearly insanity-inducing need, he locked eyes to hopefully get his point across. “Whatever way you want to.”

As soon as Victor licked his lips, Yuri knew he was doomed. Victor's face drew back, down Yuri's body into the shadows thrown by the dim light, Yuri's hand coming loose from his hair. Yuri squeaked yet again as Victor let his hand tighten around Yuri's shaft for a moment, a shock of pleasure going through him that wasn't allowed to fade when Victor took the entire head of Yuri's erection into his mouth. He held it there, tongue slithering around it and causing Yuri to moan raggedly, body squirming and arching as Victor's head began to bob up and down, his grip at first following the motion then twisting around the base. Yuri's hand returned to Victor's hair, tangling in and taking hold and drawing a growl from Victor, his free hand gathering a handful of the blanket beneath them on the bed. He took in the feel at the pace Victor had set for as long as he possibly could, but as he felt his lower abs and leg muscles tensing he knew he wouldn't last much longer.

“Faster, uhhh god _more!”_ he cried, and Victor obliged; the salty taste on Victor's tongue finally prompting him to draw back, hand moving as fast as he could manage as he peered at Yuri's shadowy face in the dimly lit room, his body arching and twisting off the bed as he came with a mix of a yell and growl. For a few moments he pumped his hips into Victor's hand before he collapsed with a sharp exhale, one arm coming up to lay over his eyes as he gasped for air.

Yuri came to realize that seeing stars wasn't a cliché after all. He'd clamped his eyes so tightly shut in the last few moments that he'd definitely seen them and it felt like his vision and mind were still full of them as he fought to clear his head. He felt Victor get off the bed, then heard the water in the bathroom sink run; shortly after the sensation of a warm, damp cloth made him shudder, then sigh at the different kind of pleasurable sensation as Victor lovingly cleaned him up. A few moments after he'd drawn away, Yuri felt a kiss into the palm of the hand on the arm that was laying across his eyes.

“Are you all right Yuri?” Victor asked softly, prompting Yuri to move his hand away.

“Yeah... real good...” His words were stifled into another deep kiss from Victor. As he continued to kiss Yuri his body lowered down a bit, and as he returned it Yuri felt Victor's erection graze over his abs again, causing him to gently break away from his lips.

“You're still hard...”

Yuri was surprised to see Victor blush. “It's fine...”

“No... I'm not going to let you go without,” Yuri said softly, cupping Victor's face with one hand. “I just... don't know if I'm --”

“You don't have to do anything you're not comfortable with,” Victor reassured him. “But if it's what you want to do, you're free to let your imagination run wild,” he added with a grin.

“Lie down,” Yuri murmured and Victor did as told, stretching out on the bed as Yuri rose to his hands and knees. For a few moments he let his eyes wander over Victor's body, swallowing down the pangs of uncertainty and nerves threatening to bubble up within him. _You can do this. You dreamed about it long enough._ At the risk of possibly throwing a glitch into the mood, Yuri straddled Victor's body on all fours.

“Do you remember the time you were the cover for the “body” issue of that one Russian women's magazine?” Yuri murmured as he leaned in to place kisses over Victor's face and neck.

“Mmm... I do,” Victor replied, his voice then dropping to a playful whisper. “I had a sock on my dick. I didn't want anyone seeing my junk!”

Yuri broke into a snortgiggle against Victor's collarbone. “Oh my god!”

“They photoshopped it out in one picture because you could see the end of it peeking out behind my leg, in the one where I was jumping up into an Axel entry. Which... I don't advise doing naked. Ever. You will find out your dick can spin like a helicopter. Not sexy. It did fling the sock off across the set though.”

Yuri practically shoutlaughed.  _ “Victor!!!” _

“I'm serious!!!”

“I'm trying to be!!”

Victor burst into laughter then, wrapping his arms around Yuri and hugging him tightly. “I know, I know, I'm sorry. I just didn't want you to be nervous.”

“So wait, that wasn't true?”

“I didn't say _that!”_

Yuri dissolved into giggles again, his train of thought broken. “I... well... now I don't even know...”

“What picture was your favorite?”

Yuri paused, fighting hard to collect his thoughts. “The one where you were lying down on the bed with just the one fold of the satin sheets covering you. I... stared that one a lot more than anyone really should...”

Victor ran his fingers through Yuri's hair, his tone softening. “And what did you think about?”

“It was... I remember it being the first time I thought about what I'd love to do to you. And then I... that was when I realized that I was maybe not straight.”

Victor felt a flip in his heart at that. “Well, that's certainly an important thing to be a part of, even if I didn't know about it. But why don't you tell me what you were thinking of doing...”

Yuri leaned in to kiss him deeply again. “I'd rather show you.”

Victor smiled against his lips. “That works too.”

Yuri let his mind wander then, trying to remember the thoughts that would surface as he'd lie in bed back in his room in Hasetsu. He'd wished he could hang the photos up from one of his three copies of the magazine with the other photos on the walls, but his mother would come into the room from time to time to drop off laundry or look for stray dishes he'd forgotten to return to the kitchen, and he was sure he'd get in trouble for any photos of Victor less than clothed. When he was certain the house was totally asleep he would pull the one copy he'd designated for viewing from its place in the drawer of his desk and open it to the page that was marked with a tiny photo of Victor he'd cut out from a different magazine.

As he rose to his knees to look down at Victor in the dim, golden glow of the night lamp on the dresser, he closed his eyes a bit and let his mind wander. He reached down, letting his hands begin to explore Victor's body, feeling the sharp creases between carefully-developed muscles, the firmness of the well-defined pectorals of the chest he'd admired in more than one of the characteristically-tight costumes Victor would wear as he'd come of age. A telltale gasp let Yuri know that Victor's nipples were just as sensitive as his own, and it proved to be the trigger that set Yuri off once more. Leaning in he at first let his lips wander, showering kisses over Victor's chest and causing one of Victor's hands to draw up and tangle into Yuri's hair.

A slip of Yuri's tongue over the hard nub of one nipple caused Victor to gasp and Yuri played into it, lapping over it and teasing with feathery flicks of his tongue before moving on to the other one. He continued the chain of meandering licks, kisses and nips over Victor's body, nuzzling into the creases at the front of each hip, fingertips raking over those impossibly-hard thighs and slipping inward to graze their touch over the sensitive skin on the inner sides. Victor's legs drew up and opened invitingly in response to his touch and Yuri continued the tease, enjoying the whimpers and moans it pulled from Victor's throat. He got even more daring and leaned in to shower kisses over each inner thigh in turn and found that it was indeed a red zone for Victor, his legs dropping open more to afford Yuri more skin to tease. As he moved his kisses up Victor's leg he couldn't help but notice the very full erection, the tip glistening as it curved back against Victor's stomach.

Just a bit earlier, Yuri hadn't been sure how he felt about doing... that. But he suddenly understood the appeal as he leaned in and with one long, slow lick, took in a taste of the underside of Victor's erection from base to tip. The moan it pulled from Victor's throat pleased him greatly.

“Hmm... maybe I'll give back what you gave me,” Yuri purred against Victor's shaft, making him squirm a bit. He cradled it in one hand then and instead of using fingertips for the first little while he continued the work his tongue had begun up at Victor's nipples, moving from long licks to teasing flicks of the tongue over the entire length and girth of the impressive erection. He found he wasn't quite ready to go as far as Victor did though, so as Victor's moans turned especially needy, his lower abs clenching as the tease became more unbearable Yuri moved up, trailing kisses over Victor's torso again until he pressed their lips together, lying down and grinding his body into Victor's as his hand began a slow, gentle stroking rhythm, his grip somewhat loose to keep the tease going, thumb flicking lightly over the tip. He watched Victor's face as it grimaced in pleasure, head turning from side to side as Yuri leaned in to nibble and kiss over his neck. Victor's arms wrapped around Yuri's body, hands palming over his back helping Yuri to find a sensation he really enjoyed, and he made a mental note of for next time as he purred in pleasure at the feel.

Before long though Victor's fingertips began to press harder into Yuri's back, his whimpers turning whiny with need, breaths shallow as his hips pushed up into Yuri's hand.

“What do you want, hm?” Yuri murmured into Victor's ear.

“Make me... feel... like you've always dreamed about...”

“Mhm... well...” Yuri let go of Victor's erection for a moment to graze fingernails over the surface, lightly scratching and drawing an equally-scratchy, needy whine from Victor's throat. “I dreamed of making you scream... I wonder how I can do that...” He continued the tease, Victor's chest rising and falling quickly as he got closer, the light touch still keeping him so far away from it.

“Y...you will... if you keep... doing this... I... need more...” Victor's voice cracked a bit as it faded into another needy whine. He let out a deep groan as Yuri's hand clamped around him suddenly, the abrupt change in intensity sending his head spinning, his body squirming involuntarily as Yuri varied the tightness of his grip with each stroke, pausing to give the tip a good massage with his thumb. Victor's knees drew up, feet pressing into the mattress as he pumped his hips upward; in response Yuri accelerated the motion of his hand. Victor's moans rose in pitch with each sharp exhale, torso arching and tensing for the last few moments before he came with a hard yell that tapered down to a raspy finish as he spilled over Yuri's hand. His body's collapse was equally as dramatic, dropping down hard onto the bed enough to make it bounce a bit.

It was Victor's turn then to feel Yuri slowly slip off of the bed, returning shortly afterward with another warm cloth to reciprocate the same gentle aftercare. Another pause resulted from Yuri stepping away from taking care of the cloth, and upon his return he found Victor on the bed smiling warmly and holding his arms open for Yuri to climb into, folding him against his chest and into the embrace.

“I'm going to give you wine more often,” Victor murmured in a playful tone after an extended quiet where the pair collected their thoughts.

“Sake works better,” Yuri replied.

“And how do you know that?”

“When I'd get buzzed on sake that's when... I'd have the best dreams.”

“Yuuuriiii stop, I don't think I can get it up again to deal with this concept.”

Yuri broke into another snortlaugh, hiding his face in Victor's chest. “Oh my  _ god _ you are ridiculous!!!”

“It's true. You wore me out completely. I think you got your revenge,” Victor said, his words mixed with a soft laugh.

“So... I thought you said you didn't know what you were doing,” Yuri said, his tone teasing.

“I've never done it for real!” Victor confirmed. “But... I've watched... _movies.”_

“It's okay, Victor, you can say porn.”

Victor burst into laughter at that. “Okay fine, porn. At first, I just watched straight porn, man and woman. I'd find myself mostly watching what the guy was doing and I thought at first it was because I was trying to figure it all out, what I was supposed to do in this situation. It was only when I found one of two men together that the lightbulb went on. It was the only thing that did anything for me, and after that I started to realize some things. Not quite as interesting as your story. It's actually kind of romantic knowing I was your sexual awakening.”

“I would say you still are... you're definitely my first. If we can call this that?”

“Well yes, you're mine as well. We don't have to call it anything though. We're just enjoying each other. Showing our love to each other in a deeper way. There's no rules about how far we have to go before it's 'real' sex,” Victor said.

“Oh okay... I was... kinda worried about that...”

“Shhh. There's no rush for anything. We still have a lot of exploring to do anyway, to learn about ourselves and each other. I'm good with that, if you are.”

Yuri raised his head then, his body moving up on the bed until their eyes met then leaning in to kiss him deeply, cradling Victor's face in his hands. Victor's arms tightened around him as he sighed into the kiss, one hand moving up to tangle into Yuri's hair again. They settled into a long, lingering sharing of kisses, mixing deep with soft, playful pecks and affectionate nuzzles until Yuri realized Victor's kisses seemed to be fading a bit. Pulling back gently he found Victor blinking drowsily.

“Oh... I'm crashing really hard,” Victor said, his tone apologetic.

“It's okay, I'm tired too,” Yuri said softly. He moved off to snuggle to Victor's side, one arm draped over his chest and head on Victor's shoulder; in turn Victor wrapped the arm that was under Yuri around his more petite frame, drawing him in close as he laid his other arm over the one of Yuri's that rested on his chest.

“Tonight was beautiful, just like you,” Victor murmured, fighting sleep again. “I love you... and thank you.”

Yuri's response was delayed as he found himself struggling to fight back a rush of tears in response to Victor's words. He waited until he was sure his voice wouldn't quaver as he spoke. “No, it was as amazing as you are. I love you too... and I should be thanking you too. Sleep well.”

The quiet that followed, along with Victor's embrace softening a bit, told Yuri he'd likely fallen asleep before he'd finished his words. It didn't matter, though, because Yuri fully intended to remind Victor every day that he did, indeed, love him.

_ Sometimes dreams really do come true, as sappy as that sounds. And there's nothing I wouldn't do, no one I wouldn't fight, to keep this dream... to keep  **you...** with me forever. _

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should note that while I have heard of some quick ideas for ramen, Yuri's "cheater's ramen" is not based on any actual recipe but rather more on the ingenuity of the average college student. If you decide to give it a shot, I give no verification as to the results. 😉
> 
> This chapter took a bit longer than usual for a few reasons, but I also think I may give myself a bit of extra time to work on chapters going forward. It usually takes me three to four days to do the rough draft and another for editing and posting, which may or may not be consecutive. And as this next arc with lots of skating competitions to document and lots of plot happening gets going I may need the extra time to regroup between the writing of each one. This arc/skating season is the one that is represented in the original anime, so I'm really having to plan things carefully due to all the changes I've made from canon. It's also the time of year that my fibromyalgia acts up a lot, and the one thing it goes for pretty hard is my hands which, obviously, makes typing difficult to impossible at times. So please just be aware of all of that. 🙂
> 
> I'm on Twitter as @AslanKatsuki; if you add me feel free to say hi!

**Author's Note:**

> I have been wanting to write a YOI story set in the skating world since I became a fan of the show, but could never settle on a plot that I liked or that didn't seem to have been done in some way. But now that I've decided to go forward with this, here's hoping it's not too similar to other stories out there. If so, it's entirely unintentional, as I quite honestly have not read any YOI fics set in the skating world that weren't one-shots.
> 
> As I did with my other big YOI fic, "All The World's a Stage" where I relied on years of watching American Idol to create the setting, this fic will be infused with my longtime figure skating fandom. Older fans of the sport or those who have delved into its history may pick up on the references to real-life skaters and coaches along the way. I'm basically putting YOI in a blender and shaking up the story into something that isn't canon-compliant. Let's see how this goes. :)
> 
> Twitter: @AslanKatsuki


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